


Continuity

by Arctimon



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014), Big Hero 6: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-02-27 19:40:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18745759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arctimon/pseuds/Arctimon
Summary: In order to keep the connection intact, you must remember what happened in the past. A series of one shots based off of the episodes of Season 2 of Big Hero 6 as they come out. WILL contain spoilers! The finale, To Tell The Truth (with the gang, Karmi, and Hiro) is now up!





	1. Fair Play

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own Big Hero 6. Disney does. Please go support the BH6 team by watching Season 2. They absolutely deserve it._

 **_Disclaimer_ ** _#2: These one-shots, again, will contain varying levels of spoilers for the episodes of Season 2, so it would be best if you did not read these until you have watched said episodes._

* * *

_**Chapter 1 – Fair Play** _

Karmi flopped onto her bed, exhausted. Another day gone by, and another day spent within the wondrous expanses of Sycorax, Liv Amara's company. Inventions, prototypes, flying pods delivering sushi. A little bit of everything happened.

The only thing that wasn't wondrous were the callouses that were beginning to form on her feet.

Luckily, she had a secret weapon.

She slowly dipped her toes into her portable foot bath, recoiling a bit before getting used to the temperature. She submerged her entire feet, the water doing wonders to them.

"Mmmmm," she groaned as she laid down on her bed. "I don't know where you are, Chef, but thank goodness you suggested this."

As she let her feet soak, she reached for her end table, grabbing her phone. She started to scroll through her e-mail; hopefully, a few people had gotten back to her by now.

Yup, a few had come in. Go Go was first to reply, then Honey Lemon, then Wasabi. A little bit farther down, Fred had RSVP'd. Man, even Baymax had accepted the invitation.

That just left one person out.

Karmi frowned, her good feelings now soaked just like her feet. Man, you try to do a nice thing for someone and then they just...ugh.

She let the phone hit her chest as she stared at her ceiling. Did she even want him to come at this point? She had invited him out of courtesy, but if he wasn't going to even bother...

"You know what?"

She raised her phone, going to her contacts. Underneath the G's was her destination.

"You better pick up, Hamada."

She put the phone to her ear, hearing the tone three times. With each one, she began to get more and more angry.

" _Hey, you've reached my phone, or whatever. Leave a message."_

_Beep._

Now she was furious. She was _so_ furious, she wasn't even know she was furious about any more.

But when has that ever stopped her from talking?

"Listen, Genius Boy, I know you're there! Pick up!"

No response.

"Why do you have to do this? Why do you have to be so _difficult_? Why can't you just-"

She stopped, putting her hand to her face. Her breaths were heavier now, more spaced.

"Why can't you just be my friend?"

She tried to calm herself down, but her next few sentences came out in a blur.

"I mean, I know that I still make fun of you and everything and I get on your nerves and tease you a lot. And when you had that cow with you and you told me about your internship or whatever with Krei, it was funny because you were clearly copying me. But you were only copying me because I-"

Karmi stopped again, the realization hitting her.

"...I just answered my own stupid question, didn't I?"

She let her hand run down her face and to her side. "You know what? Forget it. I thought that I could do normal things and be friends with people and all that..."

* * *

" _But now I'm not so sure anymore."_

The phone clicked off, the screen now black. In the reflection of it was only the overhead light...

And Hiro's face as he frowned.

Yeah. He had heard her.

All of it.

He put the towel down on the bed, his hair now somewhat dry and just as disheveled as before. The shower was quick but necessary, having just finished wrapping up patrol. Other than a few ketchup puddles and a little property damage, Trina and Noodle Burger Boy were covering their tracks well.

But that wasn't important now.

Hiro sat down on the bed as he grabbed his phone. He tapped a couple of buttons on the screen and brought it up as it rang.

She picked up almost immediately, but he could hear a couple of sniffles as she answered. _"Hello?"_

"It's me."

" _Oh great."_ Something creaked in the background, maybe her bed. _"Did you...listen to my message?"_

"Yup. I did."

A moment of silence followed, punctured by the continued sniffles of Karmi. Hiro swung his legs over the bed and propped himself up with his pillows.

"I'm...sorry that I made you upset."

" _You didn't do anything. It's me."  
_

Hiro straightened up. "No, I didn't help the situation at all. I don't know if you've noticed, but I have a problem with being jealous of people." He grimaced, glad she couldn't see her. "Or...just you, I guess."

She didn't respond. He didn't really know what to say to her now, but he had to say _something_. He had to try to fix it.

"Karmi."

" _...Yeah?"_

"...You deserved that internship. And trying to get one from Krei in revenge was..."

Hiro remembered Honey Lemon's word and sighed. "Shallow of me. It was a disaster, anyway. Probably for the best, because I shouldn't have done it in the first place." His hand was rubbing the sheets unbeknownst to him, trying to get out the wrinkles. "I'm happy for you. It may not matter much that it's over the phone, but...I'm really happy for you."

A beep came over his cell, and Hiro turned to see the video call prompt again.

Ohhhh, no. He wasn't going to fall for that again. "Nice try, Karmi. I'm not gonna-"

" _Just pick up, you weirdo."_

Hesitating slightly, he pressed the Accept button, and Karmi's room came into view once again. This time, she was holding her phone above her head with both hands, her head laying on the middle of her bed, a stray pillow underneath it. The streaks under her eyes were still a little wet from her tears.

" _Don't say it over the phone..."  
_

Her head filled the entirety of the frame as she narrowed her eyes at him.

" _Say it to my face."_

Hiro blinked once. "You know this is still technically over the phone, right?"

" _Hiro..."_

"OK, OK."

He steeled himself up, his eyes wandering off. "Karmi, I-"

" _Look at me."_

He looked back, and the sight startled him: Karmi had put the phone down on her bed, propped up, but her head was now on its side, her cheek rubbing against her pillow. She tucked her arm underneath it as she spoke up again.

" _To my face."_

Hiro sighed deeply, getting himself ready. He tried his best not to look away from the screen as she had requested, but those eyes were making it _really_ difficult.

"Karmi..."

OK, make that _super_ difficult. There they were, staring at him again.

But enough.

"Karmi, I'm happy for you. I really am. In fact...I don't know how you do what you do."

She raised her eyebrow at him, but let him continue on.

"You have school, this internship, your job, and who knows how much more stuff I don't even know about. And you're handling all of it...like a machine. It's almost natural to you."

" _You wouldn't say that if you saw my feet now,_ " Karmi said, glancing down the length of the bed, _"But go on."_

"What's...wrong with them?"

" _Sore. And bumpy._ " She chuckled to herself. " _You wanna see?"_

"I'll pass, thanks." Seeing her smile, even slightly, was good to see. "But you work hard at everything you do, and it pays off. I can't even get the stupid Nano-Dex to work properly."

" _You shouldn't overtax it so much. That's what kills the power."_

Hiro's mind flashed back to the rooftop, the streaks of silver dancing around him. "If only you knew..."

" _Hmm?"  
_

"You're getting me off track," Hiro said. "Look. The point is that you have all of this good stuff going for you. And you can do this, even with me being in your way. You're...

He paused, trying to think of the right word to say.

"Amazing."

" _...Do you mean that?"_ she whispered.

"I do." He stared straight into her eyes, his voice as firm as he could muster. "I absolutely do."

The tears started to come down again, carrying over her nose to the pillow. Karmi wiped them away as she blew her nose on her sleeve. _"Thank you, Hiro. I appreciate that."_

Hiro leaned back into his pillows, his mind a little more clear. "And I'm sorry that I didn't return your e-mail. For your Lady Majesty's parade or whatever."

" _You know it's...not really a parade, right? To be fair, I may have gotten a little excited when Liv made it official."_

"It wasn't official before?"

" _Not technically. There was a whole group of us, and got whittled down to me. I didn't technically start until the other day, when you guys showed up."_

"So can I still come?"

Karmi rolled her eyes. _"Yes, Genius Boy, you can come."_

"Will there be a smorgasbord there?"

" _A little smorgas, but a lot of bord."_

Hiro smiled at the joke. Seeing her happier made him feel a lot better himself. Now if only he and Karmi could stop making each other feel bad on a regular basis, perhaps they could also stop taking so many steps backward.

"Sooo," Hiro started, "I'll see you in a few days when I'm jealous and fanboying over you all over again?"

Karmi's eyes were half-shut, no doubt ready for some sleep, but she managed to get the last word in. _"It's a date,_ _then._ _"_ She reached over to her phone with her finger. _"Good night."_

Hiro stared at his phone, the screen going black again. Did...did she just say what he thought she said?

 _Don't freak out,_ he thought, turning the lamp off next to his bed. _She was falling asleep; she had no idea what she was saying._

His phone lit up again.

 _And there she is, probably explaining herself._ Hiro grabbed his cell, looking for the text message that was just sent. _See? Nothing to-_

"Aaah!" Hiro juggled his phone in the air, finding a way in the mess to take the picture off of his screen. Hurriedly, she started typing out a message.

_I thought I told you I didn't want to see that!_

Hiro brought his phone down, but almost immediately the answer came through.

_What? Not a foot person?_

He felt the blush coming up again. Thank goodness he wasn't on video anymore.

_Oooooh that's right. You're a LEG person._

Hiro continued to stare, not responding.

_Hehehehehe. :P_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Hehehehehe.

As I watched the episode, I took particular notes to sort of make sure I stayed within the continuity I had made.

But then I thought...why keep with the one I made when I can just do it _in_ the continuity? Insert guy pointing to own head here.

I'll say it again: Hiro and Karmi don't hate each other. It's a competition with them (or at least with Hiro). And sometimes when people go back and forth, someone goes a little too far. In this case, it may have been both of them.

And you know what they say...turnabout is fair play. :)

The _plan_ will be to make a new one-shot after every new episode this week. We'll see how this goes, because I guarantee not all of the episodes will be as interesting as this one.

Read and review, if you like. Until...tomorrow?


	2. Come Full Circle

_**Disclaimer:** Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. Please go support the team by watching Season 2 on TV/DVR, not on some random putz's YouTube channel._

_**Disclaimer #2:** There will be spoilers in these one-shots, so please make sure to watch the episodes first before reading if you wish to avoid them._

* * *

_**Chapter 2 – Come Full Circle** _

"Do take your time. It is not as if I have other places I need to be."

Grace Granville tapped the side of her head, waiting for the person she had beckoned for to come. For the most part, it had been a pretty uneventful day. Maybe this was revenge for all of the excitement that happened the day prior.

But meetings, e-mails, and teaching was not the same as sneaking into an underground restaurant and fighting a crazed ninja woman. The one interesting thing that _did_ happen today...well, that's what she was waiting for.

Mostly.

Her office door opened, revealing the new arrival. "You wanted to see me, Professor?"

"Ahh, yes. Mr. Hamada. How nice of you to finally show up," she said, gesturing in front of her. "Have a seat."

Hiro stepped forward and took his seat in the chair in front of her desk, setting his backpack down. "What did you want to talk about?"

"There's a couple of things I wished to discuss. The first order of business...would you happen to know why all of the vending machines in the cafe decided to malfunction this afternoon?"

Hiro shook his head, trying to keep a straight face. "Nope, I wouldn't know anything of it."

Granville narrowed her eyes, not impressed.

"On a _completely_ unrelated note..." He reached into his backpack and grabbed a small bag, handing it to her. "I wanted to give you this."

She opened the bag and tossed a piece of the insides into her mouth. "Mr. Hamada, how _did_ you know chocolate-covered peanut butter pretzels were my favorite?"

"I...guessed."

"Good guess." She set the bag aside. "Please tell me that you're going to return the rest of the snacks in your backpack before you leave."

Hiro grinned sheepishly, kicking his bag to the side, the many bags of junk food seen through the zipper. "They will be, Professor."

"Very well. To the second order of business, then."

Granville straightened up in her seat, crossing her fingers. "I wanted to further emphasis my apologies for getting you and the team in trouble. My intrusions caused a great amount of stress on all of you. It was never my intention for that to happen. I-"

She stopped, noticing Hiro's growing grin. "Do you wish to share with the rest of the class, Mr. Hamada?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking about how Baymax got you to Momakase's place?"

"We flew."

"And how was that?"

Granville shrugged. "Once I forbid myself from looking down, the flight was actually quite pleasant. It is a wonder to your craft that you were able to build armor sustaining air travel so smoothly."

Hiro's smile didn't waver as he pulled a small data drive out of his pocket. He gingerly put it on the desk as Granville looked on.

"Did you know, Professor, that Baymax has a recording device installed in him?"

Her eyes widened.

"And he records a lot when we're on patrol, for documentation purposes?"

Even more.

"And in order for me to finish diagnosing Baymax's problems after that night, I had to listen to said recording?"

"...Blackmail is not very becoming of you, Mr. Hamada."

"Who said I was blackmailing you? I'm just stating what I have in my possession..." He brought the backpack up for her to see, shaking it slightly. "And I am telling you what you can have in yours."

Granville leaned forward, her hands together. She didn't appear to be budging.

Hiro sighed. "Fine." He dove into his backpack, pulling out the rest of the bags with the same pretzels in them. "It's not like I can eat them, anyway."

Satisfied, she pulled the stash toward her, including the drive. Hiro zipped up his bag again, relieved. "You almost broke Baymax's lenses when you screamed-"

"That is quite enough, Mr. Hamada."

"...Fair enough."

Granville swept the bags and drive into an open drawer, closing it with a thud. "Tell me...have you had any luck with locating Momakase?"

Hiro shrugged. "Not yet. It seems like everyone we've fought recently knows how to hide when they need to. But we'll find them. Noodle Burger Boy, Momakase, Trina."

The dean lowered her head, lost in thought. Hiro suddenly realized what was wrong.

"Sorry."

Granville rubbed her thumbs together. "It is possible, Mr. Hamada, that he survived. Because those two did."

"Yeah, but they're also robots. They're a little more durable than we are."

Hiro leaned forward, his voice clear. "Professor, you told me a while ago that things are sometimes better off unknown. I haven't been back there in a while, and I'm not so sure I want to. Obake...he's more than likely gone."

"And as I understand it, he didn't have much time left, anyway," Granville whispered.

"What?" Hiro stood up from his chair. "Wha—what are you talking about?"

"It is all right, Mr. Hamada," Granville said. "I was made aware of his...condition...by Baymax a few weeks ago."

"Wait, how-" Hiro frowned. "He made a copy, didn't he?"

She drummed her fingers on the table, her face sullen. "Baymax thought it would be appropriate for me to have access to that information. I assure you that I did not go looking for it. He came here and gave me a copy of the video file he had when he escaped."

Hiro sat back down, sighing. "Professor, I-"

"Your attempt to protect my feelings is appreciated, Mr. Hamada. But I assure you that I have accepted my responsibility in the matter. Baymax was able to help with that."

"Speaking of him," he started, "Where was _I_ during this?"

Granville smiled at him. "If I remember correctly, he mentioned that you were on a blimp with a fellow classmate."

Hiro recoiled in his seat. "Umm..."

"Mr. Hamada, there are plenty of places in this city you can take Karmi without resorting to the air. I hear that they are building an outdoor patio space at _Gramercy._ I think that would be lovely, would it not?"

Hearing no answer, and seeing him start to blush, she switched topics. "I've also heard that you've recently accepted a position as an intern at Krei Industries. That is quite a task; I hope you are up for it."

"It's been crazy, yeah. I officially start tomorrow. He's even giving me my own lab."

"I do hope that you will be able to focus on your studies in addition to this, Mr. Hamada. After all," she added with a grin, "This is not a contest."

"No, it's not."

Granville noticed that Hiro was leaning back and forth rather nervously. "Do you have something to add, Mr. Hamada?"

"I wanted to give you something else."

"I assure you that I have enough snacks to last me a lifetime."

"No, it's...not that. Here."

Hiro set his phone down on her desk, gesturing to her to do the same.

"Mr. Hamada, if you plan on giving my phone a virus, I would rather you not."

He shook his head in dissent. "It's not that. Do what I do."

She took out her phone and set it down, the top of her phone touching his. Slowly, she began to mimic his movements with her finger.

A swipe across the top of the screen from right to left. Down the entirety of the left side. Right on the bottom. Halfway up on the right. And through the entire middle, touching the left border.

Both of their screens turned red, and several lines of binary flashed across them. After a few seconds, they went black, but not before something flashed in the middle of the screen: a small, stylized number six.

"I've set up a secure communications line with your phone. All you have to do is swipe like we just did, and it will make it automatically. It's firewalled and protected against anyone trying to hack into it. It'll also work with your laptop and any wireless headsets you may have."

Granville brought her phone up to her face, the number still dancing around on her screen. "Mr. Hamada, whatever happened to questioning authority?"

"I did," Hiro said, putting his phone back in his pocket. "And then I asked myself one: is there anyone else we would rather have on our side when we need help? I mean...you've been there for me—us. For us."

She closed her phone down, nodding. "Thank you, Mr. Hamada. I promise that I will not abuse this."

"That's good to hear." He swung his backpack onto his back. "Have a good night, Professor."

She let him get to the door before she responded.

"And you as well, Hiro."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** One thing that I always imagined in my head was Granville being some sort of Nick Fury-esque behind-the-scenes character, being able to find out information for the team and being sort of a mysterious figure.

It turns out that she's just one giant fangirl. Who knew?

Apologies for the abrupt end, but I didn't really have a proper one. This chapter did not come as easy as the first one, but hopefully there will be people that will enjoy it.

I also hope that people will figure out that I'm titling the chapters based off the episode titles. Hehehe.

I have a very weird feeling about the next episode, "Prey Date". Don't really know why, but Karmi'll be there again, so I guess we know who the next chapter will focus upon. :)

Read and review, if you like. See you tomorrow.


	3. They Hate...?

_**Disclaimer:** Big Hero 6 is the property of Disney Animation. You will immediately know which scene I decided to build this story upon when you get to it._

_**Disclaimer #2:** Spoilers are abound for this series ( **especially** this one), so if you don't wish to be spoiled, don't read this until you do._

* * *

_**Chapter 3 – They Hate...?** _

Hiro walked into the Periodic Cafe, starving. Working up an appetite was easy when you went to bed with no food after being carried around the city by a mutated human being-turned-monster. After his impromptu trip around the city and in the sewers, "rescue" by the team, and trip to Sycorax to turn Knox in, he barely had time to say hello to his Aunt before heading upstairs and immediately to bed.

And the next morning brought nothing but pain and soreness.

At least his feet looked better than Karmi's had.

Hiro scanned the food court, trying to decide on what to eat. Noodle Burger was out; too much of his diet was consisting of that these days. Not sushi, not pizza. What else was there?

He turned to one of the places near the far end...and grinned.

Guess he was in the mood for a burger.

Hiro walked over to the end of the counter and grabbed a tray, swiping his ID to prepay for the food. Upon hearing the beep, the only other person in line looked his way, then turned her head away.

...And then looked again.

"Hiro?"

"Taking a break to walk with the normal people?"

Karmi narrowed her eyes, pushing her tray with her index finger down a little ways to get her toppings. Needing to wait for the machine to cook his pattie, Hiro stayed in his place.

"Did you manage to cure Orso Knox with your serum?"

She didn't appear to hear him as she grabbed a small container of ketchup. The burger was done, so Hiro set it onto his tray, pushing it closer to Karmi's. As soon as he did that, however, she pushed hers even further down to the drink counter.

He stared at her as Karmi turned to him, an amused eyebrow raised.

"Is the game we're playing now? 'Keep Away'?"

"I don't have conversations with people unless they're next to me."

Grinning slightly, he started to push his now completed plate down next to hers. "Am I close enough now?"

"Maybe."

His tray came to a stop right next to hers, its journey and game complete. "So, Karmi...did your serum work?"

"Yes," she said, pouring ketchup on her burger and putting the bun on top. "But..it's not _my_ serum. At Sycorax, we don't like words like... _'my'_ or... _'me'_. The breakthrough was a _team_ effort."

She bent down to grab her cup of water and straw. She hesitated for a moment, looking away from him. "Based almost completely on... _my_ work."

Hiro watched her take a sip, noticing the carefully placed emphasis in her words. He bent down to get his own drink. "Well..."

Karmi looked over at him, intrigued.

"I guess Mr. Knox really owes one to the Sycorax team," he said with a grin.

She returned his smile. The two continued to stare at each other for a bit, until Hiro remembered his food was in front of him.

"I have to go eat now. I...guess I'll see you later." Hiro started to walk away from the counter, but stopped when he felt some pressure on his arm.

"Hiro, wait."

He turned back and saw her hand grasping his sleeve.

"Can...can we talk?"

Hiro faced her, a little surprised. "You actually _want_ to talk to me?"

"Hey, don't try to make me change my mind."

"Umm...sure." He grasped his tray and looked around. "Where do you want to sit?"

Karmi nodded in the direction of the stairs. "We can go upstairs. There's usually not a lot of people up there."

He glanced around the bottom level. "And down here's not good enough?"

"I mean, it's quieter up there. More secluded."

"...You're going to murder me, aren't you?"

"No." Karmi took the first step up, not looking at him. "If I wanted to murder you, I'd do it in my lab."

Cautiously, he walked up the steps behind her, leading up to the second floor. Strewn around the edge of the balcony were small tables, going all the way around the opening to the food court below. Karmi walked over to one of the tables near the window, setting her tray down there.

"Good spot." Hiro placed his food there as well, looking out to the lawn below. "At least if you throw me out here, there will be witnesses."

The two of them settled into their chairs, enjoying the view. Then, they turned to each other.

"Hiro/Karmi, I-"

They recoiled, as they didn't expect to speak at the same time. They began to laugh, the ridiculousness of the situation evident.

"What is wrong with us?" Karmi chuckled.

"A lot, apparently." Hiro said. He waved over to her. "You go first."

"No, you."

"Ladies first. I insist."

"Hiro, I swear, if you don't talk-"

"OK, OK. You make a convincing argument."

Karmi sat back in her chair, taking a bite out of her burger.

"Look, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. The whole reason that we even got into this whole mess is because I was being nosy about things. I almost got you fired from your internship..."

He leaned forward, his arms crossed on the table. "And I almost got you hurt too. It was stupid for me to ask you to do that. It won't happen again."

"I don't care."

Hiro saw her face rise, her eyes bearing right down at him. "Um...sorry?"

"To be honest, I'm mad at you."

"And you have every right to be. I'm not-"

"No. You don't understand." Karmi glared at him. "I'm _mad_ at you."

"Karmi, the emphasis doesn't change anything about the-"

She cut him off again. "Hiro, for once in your life, be quiet and listen to me."

Hiro was startled, but relented. "OK. I'm listening."

Karmi let a couple of breaths out through her nose before starting. "Hiro, every time you come around me, things go wrong. Something breaks, something gets destroyed, something always _happens._ I've lost so much stuff because of you, and I thought that this one thing...this internship... would be _my_ thing. And then _you_ showed up."

He looked down at the table, silent.

"And you know what? When we started poking around and exploring everywhere, I _liked_ it. It was exciting. And then...Orso Knox happened. And then you-"

His eyes narrowed. Hold on a sec...

"You..."

His head snapped back up. Karmi was now sitting stiff in her chair, her arms in her lap, shaking.

"I what?" he whispered.

"You left me in that lab. I made all of the components to fix his mutation, and I came out to try to find you. And then I saw the cages, and your phone destroyed, and...no sign of you or him."

Hiro got up from his chair, slowly making his way over to her.

"I came out of the lockdown with everything I could use to cure him, and I heard he had...taken you. And I wasn't sure that..."

Karmi shook her head, trying to keep her emotions in check. "Hiro, I don't care that you break my stuff, or do stupid things when you're around me. I mean, I _do_ , and that's why it seems like I'm always mad at you. But after yesterday…"

Her chest heaved as she tried to get her breathing under control. "I don't care about all of that, because if he had hurt you, I..."

She felt his presence next to him, and his hand slide onto her shoulder.

"Karmi, I'm fine. He didn't hurt me. I don't think he was ever going to hurt anyone. Trust me, Karmi, you can't get rid of me that easily."

Her hand climbed up her arm, gently coming to a rest on his.

"I don't _want_ to get rid of you."

"...Those words would mean a little more if you didn't just threaten me with murder about ten minutes ago."

"I didn't threaten to kill you. I just told you how I would do it if given the opportunity."

Hiro squeezed her shoulder and laughed. " _Now_ who's arguing semantics?"

Karmi grinned as he made his way back to his chair. Content, he brought the burger up to his face...

"I don't hate you, you know."

Hiro paused, his food almost at his lips. "That's an odd thing to say."

"I just...maybe thought that you thought I did."

"No, I don't think that." He set the burger down. "For the record, I don't hate you, either. We're just different, that's all."

Karmi drummed the side of her cup. "I keep telling myself I would be better at being friends by now. Guess I'm a failure at that."

Hiro stared at her, seeing her lost in thought. His mind went back to the earthquake demo, rubble everywhere and a wet paint handprint on his face.

"We learn more from our failures than our successes, Karmi. How boring would it be if we succeeded at everything? It keeps things interesting."

"That's surprisingly wise coming from you."

"Someone else told me that. Now," Hiro pointed down to her plate. "Are you going to eat that or not?"

Karmi had forgotten she even had food in front of her. She reached down...

"But first..."

She looked up to see Hiro extending his arm out, his soda cup in his hand. "To failures."

She brought her own one up, smirking. "Nah...to successes."

They paused, then tapped their drinks between them, completing the impromptu toast together.

"To both."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I hope (perhaps against hope) that "Prey Date" will _finally_ be the turning point for Hiro and Karmi's friendship. And I'm not even saying that because I've written a bunch of Hiro/Karmi stuff. I say that because you can tell that Karmi legitimately worries about him at the end of the episode, and they have their first conversation where they don't actually make fun of each other. Baby steps, people.

And I say this...knowing which episode is coming up.

I already have an idea for a story without even having seen the next episode. Let's see if "Something's Fishy" will allow that idea to stay.

Read and review, if you like. Until tomorrow.


	4. Fishing For Info

_**Disclaimer:** Big Hero 6 is the property of Disney Animation. Please go watch Season 2; it has been an absolute blast so far._

_**Disclaimer #2:** Blah blah blah spoilers blah blah blah don't read this blah blah._

* * *

_**Chapter 4 – Fishing For Info** _

"So did you at least take her home?"

"No, her dad took her in his police car. I barely got a chance to say goodbye."

"Aww, Hiro." Honey Lemon put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. We were a little busy at the time, anyway."

The gang was back at SFIT the next morning, working at their own stations. Fred was nowhere to be found, but Hiro had a sneaking suspicion he was up in the rafters testing the invisibility on his new suit. Go Go had taken her new bike out for a test run, Wasabi was busy organizing his toolkit, and Hiro was...

Well...

"Hiro, are you sure you're OK?"

"Honey Lemon, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"...Because you've been hitting that ping-pong ball with the robot for ten minutes straight now."

Hiro had the paddle in his hand, his hits almost on automatic. The robot on the other side, having been programmed for this, was hitting everything back at him.

"I'm fine," he repeated, hitting the ball again. "You know, just normal old me doing normal old things like playing sports and whatnot."

Honey Lemon glanced over at Wasabi, who shook his head. "Yeah, I'm going to go with a no on that."

"Guys," Hiro said, shrugging his shoulders, "I'm _fine_. For the last time. Nothing's wrong with me."

The garage door to the lab open, and Go Go came back in with her bike. She threw it onto her hooks, taking her helmet off.

"How'd the ride go?" Wasabi asked.

"Pretty good. Could still use some tuning, though." She came over to his toolbox and grabbed a wrench, much to Wasabi's annoyance. "What's wrong with Hiro?"

The three turned toward their classmate, who was now hitting the ball with increasing ferocity.

"...Besides the usual?"

THWACK!

Hiro smacked the ball so hard it careened off the table and screamed past the paddle of the robot, breaking the glass window on the double doors behind it. After a moment of confusion, the robot lowered its arm, apparently sad it was beat.

" _Would you like a hug?"_ Baymax walked over to his kin.

The ping-pong robot put its arm around Baymax's shoulder. He softly patted the elbow as he hugged it back. _"There, there."_

Hiro flipped the paddle onto the table, his energy now expended. He made his way over to Fred's chair and sighed deeply as he threw himself down.

"Gah!"

And immediately jumped back up, as his rear came in contact with something hidden.

"Only a Frederickson can be allowed to sit on the throne, young Hiro!" Fred yelled, his suit coming back into view on the chair. "Smoothie?"

"No thanks, Fred."

"Freddie, I could use one right now. Why don't you head down to the cafe and get some for all of us?"

"Excellent idea, Honey Lemon!" He jumped out of the chair and started walking backwards, his suit going out of their vision. "I'll even do it... _invisssiibllyyy_."

SMACK!

" _Ow."_

"Maybe look so you know where you're going, Fred."

The doors swung open and shut seemingly on their own, the footsteps of Fred continuing down the hallway.

"Hiro," Honey Lemon started as Hiro sat down in the chair, "It's OK to be sad. Things didn't work out. It happens."

"I'm not sad. I'm just...frustrated." He leaned back, wanting to disappear in the cushions. "I wanted to just be normal for a change, but I can't do it. I'm not good at it."

Wasabi and Honey Lemon exchanged a glance between them, wondering what to say to him...and then suddenly got pushed apart by Go Go.

"Oh, for the love of-"

She walked over to him and bent down. "Hiro, you _are_ normal...to _us_. Stop trying to be something you're not. Especially if you're doing it for the wrong reasons. This Megan girl..."

She wheeled around to Wasabi and Honey Lemon to point a finger at them. "By the way, thanks for not telling me about her."

She turned back toward Hiro, her mood back to normal. "She wants you to be a 'normal' fourteen year-old. Normal for her is different than you. You live in two different worlds. It didn't work out. Get over it."

"No offense, Go Go, but when was the last time you tried to do something normal outside of this for a change?"

The Korean straightened up, staring at him oddly. After a moment, she spoke up again.

"I went out to dinner a few nights ago."

"Really?" Hiro turned to Honey Lemon, who was attempting to hold in some sort of happiness outburst. "Where did the two of you go?"

"It...wasn't with Honey Lemon."

Hiro was confused now. "So who was it with?"

"Look," Go Go said, ignoring his question. "The point that I'm trying to make is that you're _you_. Don't try to change yourself. We like you for who you are. We don't care that you didn't go to a dance when you were younger, or you graduated high school at thirteen. If this Megan girl can't accept you for who you are...then it's not worth it."

"It's not her fault. She was just trying to help me out."

Go Go scratched her forehead. "Or maybe she _thought_ she was." Seeing Hiro's frown, she sat down on the arm of the chair. "Hiro, I'm sure she meant well, but if she _really_ wanted to help, she'd try to take things a little slower."

"Yeah." He set his chin down on his hands. "Maybe you're right."

"This calls for a smoothie break!"

This time, four "Gah!"s rang out as Fred reappeared, his tail stretching down from the ceiling, carrying a tray of glasses in his hand.

"You really need to work on your entrances, Fred," Wasabi said as he grabbed a drink.

"You mean they're not mysterious enough? I know, right? I should learn to pop in with more pizzazz!"

"So," Hiro looked up at Go Go. "Are you going to tell me who you went out with?"

"I can tell you, Hiro!"

Go Go's head snapped onto her roommate. "Honey Lemon, you signed the contract, remember?"

"Aww."

Wasabi glanced between the two of them, now concerned. "Wait, what contract?"

Ignoring Wasabi, Go Go looked down at Hiro, who was giving her puppy-dog eyes.

And then she got an idea.

"Fred, be a good chameleon-whatever and get me those paddles over there."

"Coming right up, Go Go!" Fred stuck out the tongue in his costume's mouth and grabbed two ping-pong paddles, reeling them in to the group.

"Thanks." In one fell swoop, she grabbed them with one hand and the tongue with the other, pulling it toward her. Letting go, Fred careened off into the ceiling, disappearing from sight.

"... _Ow..."_

Not his voice, though.

"Why don't we do this?" Go Go offered a paddle to Hiro. "You win, best of eleven...I'll tell you who I went with."

The teen genius smiled, grabbing it from her. "It's a deal."

* * *

Megan grabbed the ball off the bounce, tossing it to her mini-basketball hoop above her door. It went right through in a swish, hit the door, and bounced right back to her open hand.

Her dad, the new chief of San Fransokyo, was off looking for the culprits that wrecked the school's gymnasium. She was currently in her room, being bored from the day off of school.

Due to the...wrecked...gymnasium.

She turned over in her bed, the ball falling to the floor. Maybe the Internet could help cure her boredom for a little bit.

Megan logged into her laptop, her mind going over the past day. Big Hero 6 had shown up to save them from those weird electric fish-people, and that was awesome. She got to dance with Hiro, which was awesome.

And then her dad took her home in a huff. Which was not awesome.

She looked at her screen, starting to scroll through random pages. Hiro was certainly an...odd person. Guess that was a given when you were a fourteen-year-old genius. Everything she had tried to do with him ended either in failure or him running off to do school work.

"Once you go genius, I guess you can never go back," she said to herself.

A new e-mail notification popped up, and Megan tapped on the envelope icon.

"Sweet! She uploaded a new story!"

She followed the link inside, taking some time to take part in some sappy literature. After finishing it, she giggled to herself.

"I totally get it! _A Shot At Love_? You're a genius!"

Megan quickly began to type out a review to send. After a couple of minutes, she sent it off:

_This is so great! I wish that I could write as good as you do. I got my first taste of Big Hero 6 for real after moving here a bit ago, and it was awesome! Your stories are always fantastic! Can't wait for the next one!_

She got up from her bed and walked over to her desk to grab her charging phone. By the time she got back over to her computer, she had a new PM notice on the website. Curious, she clicked on it.

_I think you're the fastest person every to comment on one of my stories! Are you stalking me or something? LOL JK. Thanks for the review! I was at my internship and got a...burst of inspiration. Mostly because Big Hero 6 showed up and CAPTAIN CUTIE WAS THERE OMG! IT WAS SO AWESOME!_

Megan could feel the yelling coming through the computer screen. Chuckling softly, she started to type again:

_Yeah, they're all pretty cool. I saw one of them turn invisible, which was great. But don't worry, I won't take your "Captain Cutie" away from you. I remember when you wrote "Up In The Air" and you went on that blimp with him. It sounded amazing._

She paused for a moment, and then continued on.

_My dad just got a new job here, and he HATES Big Hero 6. I try to tell him that they're good for the city, but he never listens. Parents, I guess._

She sent that off as well. This was nice, having someone to talk to about normal things, not college level math or robots or study groups. Just...normal girl stuff.

_WHAAAATT? SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH YOUR DAD! SERIOUSLY!_

Megan laughed at her all-caps response as she answered.

_Yeah, he's definitely a stick in the mud. But he's my dad, so I have to live with it._

She stopped again, wondering whether she wanted to add something else.

"Oh, why not?"

_I'm Megan, by the way. Like I said in the review, I just moved to San Fransokyo. Maybe you can show me around the city sometime...and we can talk about Big Hero 6 some more._

She hit Enter, almost immediately regretting it. It seemed like a creeper thing to do, but hey. She took a shot. She would completely understand if the author declined.

The sound of two new messages one right after the other filled her ears, and she looked at her screen. The first:

_Well, with a screen name like "ChiefM'Gann", I sure HOPE your name is Megan._

"Hehehe."

The second?

_I'm Karmi. Nice to meet you!_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** JASON Y U DO DIS?

 _..._ Will probably be the response I get from people.

And _my_ answer?

Because I'm evil.

No, the _actual_ reason is I have a suspicion that we haven't seen the last of Megan in the show. We'll more than likely see the Chief again, because of the hate towards Big Hero 6. But Megan? Who knows?

I'm torn on Megan, actually. I didn't want to straight bash her in this story, but it does appear that based off the episode, she's really not that interested in _him_. Maybe hanging out with him, but not _him._ It's also unfortunate that this came out right after "Prey Date", where we had actually character development between Hiro and Karmi (if only for two minutes).

But would it not be hilarious if Karmi and Megan were able to come together through the power of fanfiction?

Imagine that…Hiro.

"Nega-Globby" is the last episode of the week, and I have _no_ idea what I'm going to do. I also will probably be forced to put **Part-Time** on hiatus for a bit, at least until these new episodes end. We'll see what happens.

Read and review, if you like. Until tomorrow.


	5. Chemical Bonds

_**Disclaimer:** Big Hero 6 is the property of Disney Animation. Please go watch Season 2; it has been an absolute blast so far._

_**Disclaimer #2:** Me caveman. Spoilers below. Read at discretion. No ask how me know word "discretion"._

_Also, YOU try making a chapter title riffing off of "Nega-Globby"._

* * *

_**Chapter 5 – Chemical Bonds** _

Under the microscope, the cells pulsated all on their own rhythm. The zoom was changed on the viewfinder, the person looking at it attempting to memorize every detail.

"Not any noticeable change."

Honey Lemon made a few notes on her pad, right next to her bunny doodle. Globby has offered a sample of his body for her to study. Having eaten Nega-Globby and saving the day, she wanted to make sure there wasn't any adverse effects on his cellular structure.

And there weren't. So far.

She stifled a yawn, taking another sip from her tea. She still had to run a few more tests; maybe she could go through them quickly before leaving for the day.

A soft knock came from her left, and she turned to see a lab coat-sleeved arm wrapping around the corner. The rest of the body came into her view, revealing...

"Karmi. What are you doing here?"

"I heard that you had taken some additional samples from Globby. Did you want any help with it?"

"Well, he really just wanted to make sure he could still maintain the same structural integrity from before. But if you want, we can run a couple of analyses together."

"Sounds good."

"Here." Honey Lemon turned her bunson burner off. "Can you set this over there in the cabinet for me?"

Karmi took it off of her hands and walked over to the far wall. She opened the door to place the burner in and saw the bio-stasis capsule out of the corner of her eye.

"Do you think we'll be needing that anymore?"

Honey Lemon followed her gaze. "I don't know. You never know when we'll need to turn someone back to human again."

She walked back over to her, lost in thought. "I can't believe he would willingly change himself back. After everything we did to help that man."

"He wanted to help Big Hero 6 out. I guess some people were just meant to be a hero."

Karmi's eyes scrunched together. Honey Lemon looked up to see her face and grinned sheepishly. "Oops. I said the forbidden word, didn't I?"

She puffed her bangs up and started to mix a random concoction together, much to the amusement of Honey Lemon. She put a lid on her Petri dish and turned to her. "Hiro was just trying to help, you know."

"Why does he have to try to show off all of the time in front of me? ' _Could it be the delivery system?'_ Ugh."

"Karmi, it was a legitimate question. We didn't know what was going on with the stasis pod."

"But why does he have to be so arrogant about it?"

"He wasn't. I could tell."

Karmi said nothing as she crossed her arms in a huff.

"Can I ask you a question, Karmi?" Honey Lemon said.

She didn't look up, but did acknowledge her query. "Sure."

"Why can't you be friends with him?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

Karmi didn't answer immediately, deciding to keep staring at her impromptu liquid in the beaker. Honey Lemon took the opportunity to interject.

"Karmi, you don't have to-"

All of a sudden, the teen genius slammed her fists into the table, all dignity lost. The beaker went flying off and landed on the ground, shattering into a million pieces.

" _I just can't, OK!?"_

Honey Lemon took a step back from the counter, allowing her room to get her aggression out.

"That... _kid_...is such a pompous jerk! He thinks he's so much better than me, which he's not! Why does he have to rub his stupid smarts into my face? Why can't he just leave me _alone_?"

Her head came down onto the table as well, her fists shaking on either side.

"Why can't he just leave me alone?" she repeated in a whisper.

Karmi heard the sound of heels walk over to her, and a gentle hand on the back of her neck.

"Because he doesn't want to."

She looked up to see Honey Lemon, still smiling through her entire tirade.

"Because he _wants_ to be your friend."

She bent down to Karmi's level.

"Because he likes you."

Karmi set her head down again, cheek on the table. "I know you're just trying to make me feel better. I know he hates me."

"Are you sure about that?"

Honey Lemon set down her sample and turned the corner, grabbing a stool over at Wasabi's station. She dragged it over and put it underneath her companion. "Have a seat, Karmi."

She reluctantly lowered herself onto the stool, the older student taking her seat next to her. Honey Lemon put her hand back onto her neck, rubbing it in a motherly way.

"Karmi...I'm not Go Go. I'm not going to try to pry into your life to find out what's wrong. I'm not going to force you to talk if you don't want to. But I'm right here. I'm listening. Take a deep breath."

She did indeed do that, letting it out rather heavily. It still looked like she wasn't ready to talk, so Honey Lemon chimed in.

"I know you don't hate him, Karmi. You can say it as many times as you want; I can tell when someone's not saying the truth."

She put a finger to her mouth, thinking. "Also, Go Go mentioned something about you two having lunch together, and normally people who hate each other don't-"

Karmi glared at her.

"Yeah, I don't know how she figures everything out either, but I guess that's not the point." She continued on. "I've known Hiro for a while now, and he really is a nice person. He's kind, and smart, and a good friend. Does...that sound like someone that deserves to be hated?"

"...No." Karmi straightened up and crossed her fingers on the table. "I...I don't hate him. I really don't. But sometimes he's just so..."

"Hiro-y?"

"Yeah!" She started to count on her fingers. "He comes in with an attitude all the time, he acts like he owns the place, he wants to be involved in every single asset, he-"

She noticed that Honey Lemon was now grinning at her, a twinkle in her eye. "What?"

"Sorry. My bad." The blonde chuckled to herself. "I thought we were still talking about Hiro."

 _Now_ Karmi got it. "...Oh."

Honey Lemon took her glasses off momentarily, cleaning them with her jacket. "Karmi, remember what you said the other day when Hiro was here? _'He's a fourteen-year-old genius. We get it.'_?"

"Yeah."

"Well, there's another young genius that goes here that's just as good as him." Honey Lemon glanced at the floor and the remnants of her beaker. "And like him, she also breaks my things."

"Sorry about that," Karmi apologized.

"No worries! Half of the budget for replacement chemistry equipment is from my experiments, anyway." Honey Lemon looked back at her, leaving the mess behind. "But I'm saying that you and Hiro have so much in common. And that's _not_ a bad thing. Look."

She pointed to the stasis pod at the far wall, Karmi looking as well. "Hiro had nothing to do with that. _You_ did. You are an amazing person and student."

"But Hiro-"

"Stop. Please." She stared at the younger student straight in the face. "You are _both_ geniuses. You are _both_ great. Both of you can exist together. You need to _stop comparing yourself to him._ You are special in ways he's not. He is _not_ you. And you are _not_ him. OK?"

Karmi, overcome with emotion, wrapped her arms around Honey Lemon's waist. The Latina hugged her back, the tears running down her glasses. A good minute passed where neither of them moved at all.

"I don't understand how you do it," Karmi said, muffled by the jacket.

"Do what?"

She pulled back from the hug, rubbing her eyes. "Be so...happy all the time."

"I have a couple things. One... _tea_!" A steaming cup came into Karmi's vision, causing her to recoil. "You can never have too much tea!"

"Uhh..."

"But other than that (the cup went just as quickly out of view), I have my friends. And they make me happy. Sure, we have our ups and downs, just like you and Hiro, but isn't that what friendship is?"

Karmi shuffled in her stool, not answering.

"Here, watch me."

She saw Honey Lemon point her two index fingers upwards, about an inch apart. "Karmi...friendship isn't about trying to one-up each other." She brought the two fingers together gently. "It's about being _one_ with each other. Being there for them. Helping them when they're at their low. Understanding each other's needs and feelings, through the bad _and_ the good. And I know that's frustrating for you, because you haven't had much experience with that. But the only way you can get better at it is to try."

Karmi scratched the back of her head. "You're right. You're right about everything. I...I just don't know where to start. I feel like we've done more bad than good already."

"I wouldn't say that. We've seen you two get along with each other. I mean...we've also seen the two of you fight. But like I said, you have to take both of them together. Build off of that."

A sigh escaped Karmi's lips, her hand running down her face.

"Can I make a suggestion?"

"Hmm?"

Honey Lemon pulled up a map of the city on her phone. "When was the last time you and Hiro did something together?"

"...He threw me up in the air about thirty feet."

"Oh yeah, Go Go also mentioned something about that too. I just thought she was joking." She shrugged. "Anyway, what about something that wasn't related to school or your internship or about a project?"

"We all went bowling, remember?"

"But that was with all of us! What about just the two of you?"

Karmi looked away, a small blush on her cheeks. "I don't think we've really done anything."

"You two should go out and do something, then."

"You mean...like a _date_?"

"No, not that." Honey Lemon zoomed in on her map of San Fransokyo, pointing to various spots on her screen. "I mean just go out to the city and...talk. Walk around the park. Go grab food. Enjoy each other's company. Don't talk about school or work. Just get to know one another."

"Those sound a lot like date things," Karmi said worriedly.

"Just don't call it a date, then. Call it a...'friend excursion'."

Karmi raised her eyebrow at Honey Lemon.

"OK, you can come up with a better name than that later. Just promise me something." The blonde put her hand on her shoulder. "Promise me you'll at least try it, OK? By the end of the semester?"

Karmi smiled at her. "I'll...try."

"Good."

The two got up from their stools and tucked them into the table. There was no way for any of their tests to continue; the two were all tired out.

"Can you do one more thing for me, Karmi?"

"Yeah."

Her vision filled up with a dustpan and brush, held by the outstretched arms of Honey Lemon.

"...Clean up the mess you made before we leave?"

Karmi laughed, taking both instruments from her hands. "Yes, _Mom_."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** This series of stories was not intentionally meant to be a sort of "Karmi Pity Party". To be fair, you can _see_ the steps that she's trying to make when it comes to friendship, especially in "Prey Date" and this episode with Honey Lemon. I think that she's made a very large jump in these few episodes, and I hope that it only get better for her from here. Karmi has been a great person to focus on for these stories, so we'll see if next week will continue that trend.

And I am _so_ glad that it's Honey Lemon is the one that's starting the change her mind. You can see it in her eyes...and everything else. She's the mother of the group; of course she would be the one to do it.

I also want to mention that none of these stories were meant to _fix_ the episodes. I actually thoroughly enjoyed all of the episodes (even the one with Megan), so I don't see myself as trying to change anything. Just supplement it.

Now for a little break until "The Fate of the Roommates" comes out. I may use that time to try to get an update on **Part-Time** out, but more than likely, it'll just be rest. Gotta get ready for the second week.

Read and review, if you like. Until next time.


	6. The Sass & The Curious: San Fransokyo Gift

_**Disclaimer:** Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. Time for another week of episodes, which means..._

_**Disclaimer #2:** You know what? We're not even going to talk about spoilers, because what else is there to say about it?_

* * *

_**Chapter 6 – The Sass and the Curious: San Fransokyo Gift** _

"Aaaand that's the last one."

"Oh, thank goodness. I don't think I can feel my arms anymore."

"Oh, stop being a baby." Go Go reached up and lightly punched his shoulder. "We needed the extra help since the others were getting food for the move-in party."

"Wasn't she your roommate already?"

"Yes, but it was more of a last-minute fix to a solution." Go Go started to climb up the stairs. "This is an actual event." She turned at the top to face him. "You should be glad you're here; you get to meet everyone else."

"There's not going to be any awkward moments, are there?"

The Korean turned the corner and grinned. "I'll give it about five minutes once they get here."

The gang had completed moving all of Honey Lemon's stuff back into her apartment...almost. Since they wanted to make it an actual party and not one just filled with stickers, Hiro, Wasabi, Fred, Baymax, and Honey Lemon had broken away to go grab some grub. Go Go wanted to make sure everything was neat and orderly before they came back, so she stayed behind.

And then she forgot that there were a few boxes left in the storage unit Honey Lemon was using as an intermediary.

So she called in a favor.

"Your apartment's...a lot higher up...than you described."

"You're almost here; calm down."

He set the box down next to the door with the others, stretching his arms out. Go Go turned the knob on the door as he looked back at him. "By the way, thanks for the help-"

"Robbie!"

A yellow-clothed girl zoomed across the apartment, past Go Go, and threw her arms around him, almost causing him to fall back down the steps.

"Huh." Go Go looked down at her phone. "Ten seconds. That's gotta be a record."

"Umm..." Robbie slowly patted her head, not sure what to do. "You must be Honey Lemon."

"I'm so glad you're here! I didn't know you were coming!"

"Well, I was around town, and Go Go called me to ask for some help, and I wasn't busy."

" _Eeeeee!"_ The Latina squealed. "That's so great! Come in, come in!"

"I thought you went with the others, Honey Lemon," Go Go asked as they strolled in.

"Oh, I did, but then I wanted to get my computer set up and feed my butterflies and get some more stickers printed out and-"

Go Go and Robbie exchanged a glance as she continued on her list of things she had wanted to do. "Is...she always like this?"

"Yes." Go Go popped a bubble in her mouth. "Get used to it."

A few minutes later, the cargo were inside, and Honey Lemon went off to put the rest of her butterflies in her aviary ("Wait, _that's_ what was in those boxes?"). Go Go opened the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water, tossing one of them to Robbie.

"So this is the lair of the famous Go Go," he said, taking a swig and looking around. "Not bad. Much cozier than my place, I'll tell you that."

"It's not much, but it's enough."

"Are you kidding? It's awesome!" Robbie started wildly gesturing towards random places around him. "You have things like...refrigeration and...running water...and your own bathroom!"

"...Do you live in a hole or something?"

"Nah, a hole would be better." He sat down at the table. "I got a friend who lets me crash in a room above his garage. All I need is a bed and a bike."

Go Go shook her head. "As well as several other things to sustain a normal life, but sure."

"Hey, what's that?"

She looked on as Robbie pointed to one of her suit's discs, laying on the bookshelf. "You play in the Olympics or something?"

"No," she said, somewhat panicked. She thought she had put all of them away in her Skymax. "It's...part of my pedal bike. Magnetic wheels. Helps with wind resistance."

"You lost me on 'pedal bike'." Robbie walked over and grabbed it, twirling it between his palms. "But it looks cool. Hey! I bet if you throw it at someone, it could cause some real damage."

Go Go heard the small giggle from behind her, no doubt Honey Lemon's re-entry to the conversation. "If only you knew..." she muttered.

"Hey, heads up!"

She looked up and ducked out the way just in time as the disc that Robbie threw pinballed around the apartment, knocking over vases, disheveling books, and clanking off Honey Lemon's alarm clock before...

"Hey guys, we're back!"

Lodging itself right next to Wasabi's face as he entered the apartment.

"Ummm..." He turned toward the disc, his head shaking. "Anyone want to tell me why I almost got decapitated?"

"Because boys and their toys, that's why."

"Hey, it's _your_ toy-Ugh!"

Go Go had shoved him in his side, cutting him off. Turning back toward the door, she waved her hand in his direction. "Robbie, this is everyone. Everyone...this is Robbie."

"Oh oh oh! I get to meet the new person first!"

Wasabi barreled into the room as Fred, filled to the brim with bags of fast food, came in right after him. In one fell swoop, he threw the bags into the air, all of them landing neatly on the table.

"Hey, New Guy! I'm Fred, also known as Frederick, Freddie, Freddy-boy, the Fredmeister, and by Go Go, Knucklehead! Secret handshake time!"

Fred grabbed Robbie's hand and started a series of intricate movements and gestures. Honey Lemon started to giggle, but Go Go was busy experimenting with how far she could bury her face into her palm.

"Freddie..." Honey Lemon said gently. "I think it's a little early for that."

Fred withdrew his hand. "You're right. Right now, it's food time! We'll work on it later, buddy!" He slapped Robbie's shoulder and walked off, leaving the two in a state of disbelief.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do that." Wasabi stepped forward, offering his hand. "Wasabi."

"Nice to meet you," Robbie replied, glad to have a normal handshake. "Like the hair, by the way."

"Thanks! I can't pull off your style, though." He pointed to the stripe on his head. "I'd look like a chess board."

Wasabi walked off, leaving only one person left.

"Awww, and then there's this little guy! What's your name?" Robbie bent down and started rubbing the teen's head, much to his annoyance. "Go Go, you didn't tell me you had a little brother!"

"I _don't_." She smiled at his change of expression. "Robbie, this is Hiro. He goes to the same school as we do. And if you're not nice to him..."

The crackle got his full attention. He turned his head to see her gloves had changed to her Weapon Mode, no longer fingerless and electricity jumping between her separated fingers.

"...You have to deal with _me_."

"And," Hiro spoke up, bringing a box around to the front, "You're not going to get the pair of gloves that Go Go asked me to make for you."

"Ooohh! Gimmegimmegimme!"

Hiro sighed as the box was plucked from his hands. "Yeah, _I'm_ the little guy."

The leather gloves were already on his hands as Robbie inspected them. Just like Go Go's, the circuitry crawled down each finger until stopping at the circle on the back. It started glowing white as the leather starting emitting small bursts of flame from the fingertips on his left hand.

"Microtorches," Hiro said to a wide-eyed Go Go. "Embedded into the fingers for precision. The material on the inside is carbonized fiber welding, with just a little semi-liquid coolant between the inner and outer layers." Seeing her shocked face, he rolled his eyes. "Hey, _you_ were the one who gave me the blueprint. I just made it."

"...I literally have no idea what you just said, but this is freakin' sweet!" His non-lit hand came back down on Hiro's head, ruffling his hair. "Thanks, kiddo!"

The teen genius smirked. "You may want to get rid of that fire somehow..."

"What?"

"...Because once generated, you'll need to discard the excess heat somehow."

" _What?"_ Robbie repeated, the flames now billowing into a ball of fire. "Where do I put it?"

"I don't know!" Go Go yelled. "Throw it outside or something!"

He scooted over to the window, rearing back and tossing the fireball down the street.

"There." Robbie ducked back into the room, clapping his hands together. "No problem."

"My cabbages!" a voice shouted from outside.

He slammed the window down and grinned, trying to ignore the five sets of eyes staring at him. " _Nooo_ problem."

"Baymax, you finally made it!"

Robbie turned to see what appeared to be a giant marshmallow walk into the room. The small set of eyes on his tiny head scanned the room. " _I am not good with stairs. I was also distracted by an expulsion of heat that came down the street. Tell me...are you cooking something?"_

"This..." Go Go pushed Robbie towards the robot. "Is the last member of our group: Baymax. He's a-"

" _I am a personal healthcare companion. Allow me to scan you."_

Baymax's eyes glowed blue for a few moments before returning to their normal color. _"You are a healthy individual, with an appropriate weight compared to your height. The follicles on your head also appear to be different shades of color."  
_

"Yeah, about that..." Fred had clearly not waited for everyone before starting to dig into the food in front of him. "What's with the stripe? Did you cast a dark magic spell and suffer the _evil_ consequences?"

Before Robbie could respond, Go Go put her hand over his mouth. "Don't answer that."

* * *

_Several tacos, burgers, stickers, and hours later..._

"So you mean to tell me that they have this lizard...thing..."

"Yeah."

"And they have to get it across the border...even though once they get over the border, one of them is still going to be hunted."

" _Yup."_

"That makes no sense."

Go Go chuckled. "Well, too bad, we've already watched four episodes; I'm not explaining it to you again."

Nighttime had fallen, and the party was over, at least the celebration part. Fred, Wasabi, Hiro, and Baymax had done their part and taken the bags of junk food (of which there was none left) away themselves, leaving only a giant pile of stickers behind. Go Go had gotten her laptop and tried to introduce him to some new show she was watching, but to no avail. The only other occupant in the apartment was Honey Lemon.

A very... _loud_ Honey Lemon.

"Well, I didn't hear your explanation," Robbie said, plugging his ears, "Because your friend turned into a freight train."

"Here." Go Go walked over to her roommate, currently on her bed and in her pajamas. She pinched her nose and tipped her mouth shut. The room grew much quieter after that.

"Good thing that worked. I don't have any more earplugs."

Robbie yawned as he grabbed his jacket off of the chair. "I gotta get going, anyway. My supervisor is going to kill me if I don't show up tomorrow."

"Why?"

"Let's just say that I was suppose to show up today, and I bailed on him."

"Wait." Go Go stopped him. "So when I called you earlier today...you were already on your way up here, weren't you?"

"Guilty as charged." He threw his arm into the sleeve of his jacket. "Besides, I'd rather be here than listen to him yap about whatever comes to his mind for eight hours a day."

"You'd rather have Fred talk your ear off?"

"Hey, he's pretty cool," he retorted. "He's also...weird, but he's cool. Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Hiro...they're all awesome. Heck, even Baymax. Wish _I_ had a robot to talk to."

Robbie put his hands in his pockets, only for a confused look to appear on his face. "What the-" He brought them out, a cascade of stickers falling to the ground.

"That's impressive."

"Ha ha." He took a couple off of the pile and stuffed them back into his jacket. "I'm taking a few of these. Don't judge me."

"I'm not," Go Go said. "Aloud."

Robbie chuckled. For a moment, he had his hand on the door, Go Go leaning against the frame. They stood staring at each other before he spoke up again.

"It was good to see you again, Go Go." Robbie drummed his fingers on the knob. "I...wasn't sure whether you wanted to see me anymore after-"

"Don't." The Korean shook her head at him. "We said we weren't going to talk about that ever again."

He held up two off his fingers, lightly placing something flat on Go Go's forehead. "Well...you _are_ the boss."

"... _What_ did you just put on my head?"

Robbie opened the door and stepped through. Turning around, he wiggled all of his fingers in front of his face. " _Daaark maaaagic._ " Seeing her shake her head in mock disdain, he smiled at her. "I'll text you when I get back home. Good night."

"Night."

The door closed, and Go Go could hear his steps grow fainter and fainter through the wall. She slowly grabbed the sticker off of her forehead and examined it.

It was a heart.

And it was turning red.

She glanced up at the armor disc, still lodged into the wall across from her.

"...Damn it, Tanaka."

Go Go sprung forward, grabbed the disc, and threw the door open, taking the stairs three at a time.

He was already at his bike. It was surprising how much ground that boy could cover without the burden of boxes in his hands.

"Robbie!"

Her shout caused him to stop mid-mount, his head now turned to face her. "What's wrong?"

Slightly out of breath, Go Go had to take a moment to regain her bearings. "You can't leave."

"What?"

"You can't leave...because..." She searched her brain to try to think of something. "Hiro messed with your bike."

Robbie was amused now. "That kid knows his way around a bike? I'm shocked."

"Yeah, totally. Remember when he ducked away after Fred ate, like, his fifteenth taco? Yeah, totally came down here and messed it all up."

"Go Go...

"And also..." She tapped the metal disc against his tailpipe slightly, putting a small dent in it. "Look, your bike's damaged. It's not in any condition to ride. You might as well just leave it here and get it fixed in the morning."

Robbie crossed his arms in front of his body. "You're being weird. It...almost sounds like you _want_ me to stay."

"No! It's not that I want you to stay."

He raised his eyebrow at her.

"It's just..."

Go Go tucked her bang out of her eyes, not looking at him.

"...I don't want you...to leave."

Robbie's eyes widened.

"Look, it's almost midnight. I would feel bad if something happened on your way back. Just-"

She felt the sleeves of his leather jacket rub against the back of her neck as he pulled her into his body.

"Didn't know you cared, Leiko."

It was a good thing it was dark, and her face was muffled by his chest, because her cheeks were definitely on fire now.

"Would you just take the boy inside already? You'll catch your death of cold!"

Go Go didn't even bother to look up at her neighbor in the window. "Thank you for your unwanted opinion, Mrs. Collins!"

"Just looking out for you, dearie!"

"Yeah." She dug her forehead deeper into Robbie's body. " _You'll_ need to look out in a second."

The two separated as he reached into his seat, pulling out a green cylindrical bag. "Gramps always told me to carry an emergency go bag. Never thought I'd use it for this of all things."

"You never imagined a situation where you'd be staying over at the apartment of a girl you've barely known for a month?"

"I never thought I'd be over at someone's _apartment_. Let alone a girl's."

The two arrived back at her door. Go Go reached for the knob…

"You know, I like this side of you."

The hand stopped an inch away.

"I get the feeling it doesn't come out that much."

"Nah, not really." She looked back over her shoulder. "I'm trying, though. You can blame Honey Lemon for that."

Robbie smiled down at her. "I feel like I'm going to blame her for a lot of things." He paused, his eyes up in the air. "So, where am I sleeping tonight? I didn't see another bed in there. Or even a couch."

"Well, there's two beds." Go Go leaned back against the door. "Honey Lemon's...and mine."

"...Oh."

"What's the matter?" She crossed her arms, smirking at him. "The big bad Roberto Reyes is afraid of a little ol' girl like me?"

"I _am_ afraid of you. But hey." Robbie waved his arm forward dramatically. " _You're_ the boss."

* * *

Two people walked back through the apartment door.

Two pairs of shoes hit the hardwood floor, pushed to the side to avoid any late night disaster.

Two sets of feet walked up the creaky stairs and shuffled around the upstairs level.

Two minutes later, the springs on the bed squeaked as two bodies came together, their breathing shallow and soft as their dreams began to take over.

And the two eyes of Honey Lemon were glistening with happiness, her smile growing two sizes larger as she drifted back to sleep.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** And what was going to be a simple idea about Go Go and Honey Lemon possibly having to get rid of the cats I gave them all the way back in **Clean-Up** became something entirely different...and (to be quiet honest) better.

For those of you who may be a little lost about Mr. Robbie Reyes, go read Chapter 1 of **Part-Time** where he gets introduced. In the Marvel comics, he's the All-New Ghost Rider. In my BH6 verse, he's Go Go's potential love interest. In both, he likes to punch things and get into trouble.

I really like Robbie as a character in my stories. He serves as a nice personality that contrasts well with the others in the group, and I hope that I can bring him around for some other fics that I have in the planning process. Including one where-

Well...you'll find out.

Also, you can tell I've been watching _The Dragon Prince_ , haven't you?

And before any smart aleck asks the question that I know someone probably will...

No.

They didn't.

Read and review, if you like. Until tomorrow.


	7. Not Out Of The Woods

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Big Hero 6. Amara now owns "Bessie"...or what's left of it._

_**Disclaimer #2:** Spoilers will be below. So will be Go Go and her brand of tough love._

* * *

_**Chapter 7 – Not Out Of The Woods** _

He hadn't wished his gut was right.

Hiro was in the garage, his overhead magnifying lamp peering down onto the wooden desk in front of him. Lying beneath it was the trans-dermal patch that they had pulled off of Ned Ludd.

He had studied the patterns.

Tested the circuitry.

There was no mistaking it now.

"The purposes are different, and the tech is reworked slightly..." Hiro said to himself. "But it's almost a complete match."

"What is?"

Hiro almost jumped out of his seat, the wheely chair creaking and groaning on his re-entry. "Go Go! What are you still doing here. I thought you went home?"

"Nope. Checking up on you." The Korean came fully around the garage door, still nursing a slight limp. "As soon as we got back from dropping off Ned at the woods, you ducked into the garage and haven't come out. And that was twenty minutes ago. As soon as you saw that patch on the bridge, it looked like you saw a ghost."

"How's your leg?"

She glanced down at it, a few bandages now wrapped around her ankle. "Fine. Still a little wonky, but Baymax scanned it when I was inside resting. It's only a sprain. I just need to take it easy for a little bit.

Hiro turned back towards his workbench. "You? Take it easy?"

"I don't really have a choice this time. I could go on patrol like this, but I'd rather not risk it." Go Go came up on his left. "But stop changing the subject. What's wrong?"

He waved to the small disc on the bench, Go Go grabbing the magnifying lamp. "Looking at the patch Mochi got off of Ned. Deactivated it and started analyzing the inner workings."

"And?"

"...It's very similar to before."

"Huh?" Go Go leaned back, her face confused. "To what?"

She watched as Hiro got up from his chair and made his way over to the corner, grabbing his armored purple glove from below his white board. He pressed a button on top of the glove, and a small object came out of the center.

"This."

Go Go peered at his fingers and saw an identical disc to the one from earlier in the day. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah." Hiro walked back over to the desk and sat them beside each other. "Karmi's nanoreceptor. One of the ones that she used on Orso Knox when he wrecked the gala."

She looked through the glass again and whistled. "Wow. They looked a little too similar."

Hiro tapped the desk with his finger. "Yeah, they're almost completely the same. You know, except one's meant to numb pain and sedate and the other turns a person into a monster with giant claws and fangs."

Go Go leaned up against the back wall, crossing her arms. "And should I ask _why_ you have one of Karmi's nanoreceptors in your possession?"

Hiro sighed and wheeled over to his 3-D display. Waving his fingers around, he brought up some sketches of what appeared to be a shirt with detachable sleeves. He twirled the display as he started to explain. "Karmi and I were working on a project together."

"Is it called 'being in the same room for more than a minute together without arguing'?"

"No...that was the prototype name, though."

He spread his arms out wide, projecting his screen throughout all of the walls. Equations and data flashed all around them as he brought the model of the shirt over to his classmate. "Go Go...meet the Medi-Dex."

Go Go walked around the display, picking apart certain areas of the model. "Hypodermic delivery system...medical numbing agent algorithms...iron bioleaching transfers...all priority-powered by the subject's own biological processes. Holy cow, Hiro. This is impressive stuff."

"Yeah...it is."

"Did you come up with this idea _before_ or _after_ you threw Karmi up in the air?"

Hiro narrowed his eyes at her. "If you must know...after." He pressed his palms together, the data now shrinking back onto the screen. "We came up with the idea after I shorted out the Nano-Dex. Overtaxed it and hurt my back muscles. She had one of these with her, and she..." He trailed off, trying to hold onto that feeling he had received from it.

"Took care of you?" Go Go asked, not attempting to hide her smile.

"Yeah, I guess." He slumped back into his chair. "We were making good progress on it. Granville was actually able to secure a clinical trial for us overseas. And then...stuff happened."

"Like?"

"Oh, I don't know. Her yelling at me for absolutely no reason when I was trying to help, her being stupid about us trying to get away from Orso Knox, her thinking she's the highest and mightiest out of everyone..."

"Are you reading from a list?"

Hiro looked up, slowly lowering the note that he had made on his phone. " _Noooo._ "

Go Go walked over to the teen as she shook her head. "Hiro, when are you going to tell her-"

"I _have_. Multiple times. We always have these...moments where I think we can actually be normal. And then we argue again about stupid things."

"That's...not what I meant."

Hiro turned his head to see Go Go holding up Karmi's nanoreceptor between her fingers.

"Oh."

"I was _going to say_ when are you telling her about someone copying her work to make people into monsters," she smirked. "But since you started it, I'll butt in."

Hiro silently tried to push his chair away from the table, but Go Go caught him in the ankle. "Oh, you're not going anywhere."

The teen genius wrestled her leg out of her grasp. "I don't want to talk about this." He got up and made his way to the door inside…

And then was yanked back by his hood on his sweatshirt.

"Hey!"

"Hiro."

He stopped his struggling to see Karmi's nanoreceptor right in front of his face. Right behind that was Go Go, her eyes sternly staring back at him.

"Someone is using her tech to hurt people. We got lucky today, but we have no idea what's going to happen down the road. You _know_ that Karmi would never use her inventions to purposefully hurt people. She wants to _help_ them. She need to know...and _you_ need to tell her."

"Go Go-"

Her face got even closer. "Hiro, do you think we're stupid? Do you think that your friends can't see what's going on between the two of you? Yes, you fight. Yes, you argue. _A lot._ But once you two pull your heads of your butts, you two are a great team. You guys found Orso Knox. That was _stupid_ , but you guys found and cured him. You couldn't have done that without each other.

"And this (she waved back at the screen with the Medi-Dex on it) is only the tip of the iceberg. You guys have so much in common, it's actually kind of weird."

"Go Go, I don't hate her," Hiro interrupted. "If that's what you're going to ask next."

"No, I know you don't hate her." Her face was now an inch away from his.

"You _like_ her."

Hiro's eyes widened as he backed away from her, his back knocking into the workbench. "I..."

His one letter response was apparently not enough to satiate Go Go. "Hiro, I'm not Honey Lemon. I'm not going to coddle you and tell you that you need to search your feelings to know it to be true or whatever. That might work if she talks to Karmi, but it won't work here. I _see_ the way you look at her when you two talk. I saw what happened at the bowling alley, during that last frame. It's not rocket science, no matter how much you want to make it that."

"Fine. Tell you what." Hiro rolled up his sleeves and pointed at her. "I'll tell her how I feel about her...when you tell Robbie how you feel about him."

Go Go narrowed her eyes, and for a fleeting moment, Hiro thought he had crossed the line. However, the only thing he received back was a shrug. "'K. I mean I already did."

"...What?" he said flatly.

Well, this backfired spectacularly.

The smile returned to her face, a little amused at his blank expression. "Hiro, I'm not an expert at being in a relationship. It's weird for me. But when you guys left after the sticker party, Robbie and I...we came to an understanding. I know where he stands with me...and he knows where I stand with him. Once you get that down, everything else is just water off your back."

Go Go lightly pushed the nanoreceptor into Hiro's chest. "So I'm going to ask you this before I leave. Do you know where you stand with her, and do you know where she stands with you?"

"I..." He searched his brain for an answer, but nothing came up. "I don't know."

She started walking out toward the street, a hand on the garage door frame. "Well, you better figure that out. For your sake and hers. Tell her. About the tech... _and_ you." Her head turned back toward him. "Because if you don't tell her... _I will._ And I'm not going to be subtle and take her to the roof to say it."

Go Go walked off into the night, Hiro still standing in the middle of the garage. He looked down into his palm to see Karmi's tech still sitting there. He closed his fingers around it, making up his mind.

He was going to tell her…

About the tech. _Definitely_ about the tech. But first things first.

"I have to find out if she has this place bugged," Hiro muttered to himself.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** Just like Chapter 5, you see one of the gang talk to a young teen genius about feelings and whatnot.

 _Unlike_ Chapter 5, someone's being a little less...nuanced.

This is purposefully a callback to that chapter. Honey Lemon is nurturing, motherly, and willing to listen. Go Go...is not. She's direct, confrontational, and won't stop until she says what she needs to be said. Both styles work...in their own way.

Now, if only Hiro and Karmi would actually come together and talk to each other like adults...but I have a funny feeling that "Something Fluffy" is not going to be that time. I smell another big argument, and probably the next chapter idea.

Read and review, if you like. Until tomorrow, everyone.


	8. Blinded By The Fight

_**Disclaimer:** _ _Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. Ghostbusters is apparently also owned by them._

_**Disclaimer #2:** I won't warn about spoilers again, but I will warn you if you were coming into this chapter looking for fluff...this ain't it._

* * *

_**Chapter 8 – Blinded By The Fight** _

A knock rang out in the empty laboratory, coming from the closed door.

"Karmi?"

No answer came from within.

"C'mon, Karmi. You can't ignore me forever."

Nothing.

"...OK, maybe you can, but I need to talk to you."

After a couple second of silence, the sounds of wires sparking came from outside. The door slid open to reveal Hiro, quickly screwing back in the control panel covering.

"Just to let you know, you made me do this."

He took a few steps into her lab, noticing the lights were off and everything was packed away. "All right...maybe you weren't actually ignoring me."

"What are you doing?"

Hiro turned to address the new arrival, scratching the back of his head. "Hey. Um...your door was unlocked. Sorry."

Karmi leaned back to look at her door panel. She raised an eyebrow at it as she pressed a random button. "I locked it before I left."

"Well, you know...these things can be faulty sometimes."

No longer interested in how he got in, Karmi walked into the room and set her backpack on the counter. "What do you want, Genius Boy? I have stuff I need to work on."

"I just wanted to say thanks."

"...For what?"

"For helping us out with the Mayoi." Hiro counted out on his fingers. "For not throwing me out when I came to you for help. For...saving the city with Big Hero 6."

Karmi turned and leaned on the counter, a smirk on her face. "Aaaand?"

"...And what?"

"For Liv being totally awesome! Did you see her out there?" She stared off into space, her hands clenched. "Isn't she great?"

Hiro grimaced. "Yeah. She's...something."

"Ugh." Karmi started to take some books out of her backpack. "Don't tell me you're still on that paranoid tangent about her being evil or something. You saw that short guy controlling the Mayoi? He was the one behind _everything_. Now that we know that, Big Hero 6 can catch him and the attacks will stop."

"I...don't think Mr. Sparkles is behind those attacks."

"Oh, is that what his name is? Seems kind of weird."

"Look," Hiro started. "Something is still off with this whole thing. After we-uhhh...Big Hero 6 herded everyone into the street, he just _happens_ to show up? And then you and Liv Amara just _happened_ to bring a serum that cured them?"

"We didn't just _happen_ to have it," Karmi retorted. "Liv got me after that Mayoi broke out of the lab. She said she had a solution to the problem and had me load her car with the tech."

Hiro stared at her in disbelief. "And you don't think it's a coincidence that she's has that kind of tech lying around? Built specifically just for purposes like this?"

"Get to the point, Genius Boy."

He had to tread carefully now. "She may not be evil...but she definitely knows more than she's letting on. If we can just dig a little deeper-"

"No."

Hiro watched as she wheeled around to face him. "I am done playing Spy with you. The last time we did that, we almost got eaten by Orso Knox. I almost got fired. And you almost got hurt. I am _not_ going through that again."

"Didn't know you cared so much about me, Karmi," Hiro said, a sly grin on his face.

Karmi let a sigh out through her nose. "I _don't_. But I'll admit; I was a willing participant in your little detective journey. If you had gotten hurt on my watch..."

She let the sentence hang in the air, confusing Hiro. "You what?"

"Never mind." Karmi walked over to her back counter and grabbed a couple of beakers.

Hiro didn't know where to go from here. He clearly wasn't getting through to her. Not that he was really surprising, but he at least thought she could see through his reasoning.

He didn't want to have to do this, but now he had no other choice.

"Karmi."

She didn't look up, but she at least stopped fiddling with her lab equipment. "What?"

"You can't honestly think that an ex-game show host, with no medical or technical experience, would be capable of executing all of these monster attacks around the city. He wouldn't have the brains or money. There's only one person who could do that. And we both know who that would be."

He reached into his pocket, his fingers locking around the dermal patch. "I'm...going to show you something. And you're probably not going to like it, but I need to do this." He started to bring his arm up...

And was promptly stopped by Karmi, her hand around his wrist.

"Hiro."

He looked up into her eyes, which were filled with...sadness? Anger? Both?

" _Stop._ "

Karmi didn't let go of his arm as she continued. "I know that you are worried. Everyone in the city is worried. But when are you going to learn that Sycorax is here to _help_? You saw what happened yesterday. At Sycorax, we-"

Hiro wrestled his arm out of her grasp. He was angry now, and not for the reason he thought he would be. "You keep saying 'we'. What happened to _'you'_?"

She recoiled back a little bit.

" _You_ made the cure for Orso Knox. _You_ were the one who helped me get down to him. _You_ were the one I went to when we needed help with the Mayoi. Not Sycorax, not Liv Amara. _You._ Because I know how good you are. And now you're being...brainwashed by her."

Karmi stiffened her stance, not answering.

"I'm going to find out what's happening at Sycorax. Because whatever she's up to, she's using you to do it. And if she gets her way, she's going to toss you aside like one of her stupid experiments. And I don't-"

SMACK!

The hand came out of nowhere, making contact with his cheek. The sheer force of the slap caused Hiro to stumble back and collide with the corner counter. Regaining his senses, he looked up to see Karmi, shaking with anger and her left hand raised.

"Get out."

"Karmi, I-"

The front of his hoodie got yanked forward, and Hiro found himself face to face with his classmate. Her eyes, normally very appealing to subtly look at, were now filled with fury, threatening to shoot lasers right through his head.

" _Get. Out."_

She let his sweatshirt go, and Hiro didn't look back as he hurried his way out of the door. As it closed behind him, Karmi stood in the same spot, uncontrollably trembling. Her hand, as if it had a mind of its own, reached for the nearest beaker and chucked it as hard as she could at the nearest wall. The glass shattered against it, sending shards all around the lab.

Drained of energy, Karmi fell to her knees. She didn't care about anything anymore. Not the work. Not the glass. Not the cut on her cheek that was now dripping blood.

All she could do was cry.

* * *

Hiro did not stop walking until he got back to the lab. His head was still ringing, but he didn't care. All he wanted to do now was get out of there.

He threw open the doors and sped his way over to his stuff, sitting next to Fred's chair. Thankfully, he, Go Go, and Baymax were on patrol, so it was only two people that he had to dodge.

"Hiro?"

So much for that.

Hiro didn't even acknowledge her voice. He swung his backpack over his shoulder as he tried to escape.

Her hand came down on his shoulder, gently turning him around.

"Let me see."

Hiro looked down at the floor as Honey Lemon's fingers touched his cheek, recoiling slightly from it still stinging.

"Wasabi! Grab me an ice pack."

"I'm fine."

"You're not." Honey Lemon took the pack from Wasabi's hand and gently pressed it against his skin. "Come here."

She lead Hiro back to the chair and sat him down. "Keep that on. I'm going to go talk to Karmi."

He didn't even want to begin to think about how she knew that it was her, but he didn't care. "Honey Lemon, stop. Just leave her alone."

"But Hiro-"

"Wasabi, just drop it, OK?" He slumped his shoulders and pushed the ice pack harder on his face.

His friends glanced at each other, not sure what to do. But Hiro already had his mind made up, water now running down his arm. He just hoped they couldn't see his tears mixing with it.

"Leave her alone...just like I _should_ have."

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** This might be a little...extreme compared to other chapters and stories I've done, but I'm hoping that the next episode will be a filler one so that this will give some time to stew.

Look, it can't all be sunshine and rainbows in Hiro/Karmi land. In fact, if I just made everything work out in the same story, it would get a little boring. A little drama never hurt anyone. And I think we're going to see it in the show before this two-week run is out.

And besides...there's always room for making up later.

Read and review, if you like. Until tomorrow, everyone.


	9. Slow Things Down

_**Disclaimer:** Spoilers are below._

_**Disclaimer #2:** I do not own Big Hero 6. Disney Animation does._

* * *

_**Chapter 9 – Slow Things Down** _

_**Life is a series of challenges...** _

"What? You two are a super villain team, after all?"

"I am aware of that, Skater Tot." The old woman waved behind her, the old man strapped into his restrained. "But did you have to put him in the same cell as _me?_ "

Go Go smirked, lazily rolling around on her armor's wheels. "Like two really old peas in a pod. At least he's sleeping."

"Oh yeah. Great. I get to listen to him snore. Wonderful."

Supersonic Sue crossed her arms and looked back at the superhero. "You know, I meant what I said earlier. We could be a great partnership, you and I. Running around and painting the town red. Nothing like this clown."

"Sorry, Sue. We're on two different sides of the law. And besides..."

Go Go peered to her right, noticing in the incoming call to her cell on her display. She smiled, recognizing the number.

"I already have a team. _And_ a partner."

She sped off out of the jail, leaving the two villains behind. Once she was alone, she picked up the call. "Hey."

" _Hey. Are you busy?"_

"A little bit. Why?"

" _I was just wondering if you were interested in doing something tonight."_

A text message icon came over her visor, interrupting their conversation. "Uh...sorry. I'll have to take a rain check on that."

" _Out kicking butt as usual?_ "

Go Go turned the corner, a small smile on her face. "Yup. You could say that. But Honey Lemon just sent me something. I gotta go."

" _OK."_

She put the brakes on her wheels, gradually coming to a stop. "Don't sound so disappointed."

" _I'm not._ " The voice paused. _"I...just thought after the other night, we-"  
_

"Robbie." Go Go looked up at the clouds, trying to formulate her thoughts. "We are not going to talk about this now. I'm not ready yet. But I'll text you tonight, OK? That fair?"

 _"Fair enough."_ The sound of a car pulling up came in the background. _"I gotta get back to work, anyway."_

"OK. Good night."

" _Good night...Hot Wheels."_

The call ended before Go Go could get another word in. Letting out an anguished growl, she brought up her display on her gloves. "That boy..."

And then she read the text from Honey Lemon.

"That _girl..._ "

* * *

_**Meant to knock you down so you can get back up...** _

Every single tennis ball lodged in his direction was cleanly sliced into two...except for one.

Wasabi bent down, deactivating his blades. "I gotta get better at this. Heathcliff, do you have another bag?"

"I do, good Sir." The butler nodded to the container at his feet. "But might I suggest perhaps taking it a little easier this around. You appear to be rather tired."

"I'm fine." He straightened up and got ready. "Do it again."

Heathcliff filled the launcher and turned the dial once more. This time, the balls came at a much faster pace, almost immediately overwhelming Wasabi.

"Gah!"

Wasabi barreled over onto his back, sliding backwards until he stopped a few feet away from the fountain. The tennis balls made for a nice bed for him to let his head fall backward. "Ugh." Staring up at the sky, he noticed Heathcliff come into his field of vision. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"I'm afraid I am guilty of that, Master Wasabi," he said, almost smiling. "Perhaps this is an event that is telling you to...take it easy for a bit."

He smiled, taking the butler's outstretched hand. "Yeah. Maybe I should. I _have_ been going for a while."

Wasabi's cell started to vibrate as the two stood in the garden. "Perhaps you should see who that is, Master Wasabi, and I shall fetch you some refreshments."

"Sounds good." He picked up his phone and saw that he had a new text message. He opened it up...

"Sweet. I'm down for that."

* * *

_**Sometimes the solution is right there on the paper...** _

Fred took his time, skimming through the gigantic catalog of comics on the table in front of him. He could feel the beady little eyes of the boy behind the counter, silently judging him.

"Keep your eyes on your own work, Mole."

"Oh, I am, twerp." Richardson turned another page in his comic. "I can watch you and read at the same time. I _have_ two eyes."

"...You should get that checked out."

Finally making a decision, Fred brought up his choice to Mole, who scanned it with a flick of his wrist. "$3.59."

"What?" Fred pointed to the top corner of the comic. "It _clearly_ says something different here."

Richardson sneered at him. "You're forgetting the fact there's a forty percent Fred tax in this story. Did you not read it on the sign?"

Turns out he hadn't noticed the sign. He _did,_ however, notice the jar next the sign. It had a few coins in it, with a sticker on the outside that said "ORPHANAGE". "What's that?"

The boy followed his gaze and shrugged. "Mom wants me to gathering some cash to help with the kids down at the orphanage. Clearly she doesn't realize she can just _buy_ the orphanage, tear it down, and make a new one. Silly, right?"

Fred glanced back and forth between the jar and Mole, his brain working overtime. "You know what, Mole?"

"What?"

He slammed down everything he had in his pocket, sending a cascade of cash and coins overflowing from the jar, surprising even Mole. Fred wiped his hands off, picked up his bag with the comic, and walked out the door. "I think that'll be enough for the comic _and_ the orphanage. See ya."

Fred ignored the stunned face of his arch-nemesis as she started to walk down the street back to his house. His phone rang out, and he pulled it out of his pocket to see Honey Lemon's portrait and a new message from her. He read it aloud...

"Sweet! Team bonding time!"

* * *

_**And other times you can't see it at all...** _

"There has to be a connection. There just has to be."

Hiro was in his lab, in his chair, and in a state of perpetual misery. The white board in front of him was filled to the brim with red string, photos, blueprints, and other miscellaneous things.

Yup, he had told himself that the conspiracy theorizing was going to stop once Obake was gone, but old habits die hard.

He sunk even further into the cushion, wishing Baymax was here. Honey Lemon had taken off to parts unknown and he had been too distracted to notice until he found himself alone.

But he didn't care. He had to figure it out.

His finger traced the dermal patch on the board. He really should have just started off with that; maybe that way, he wouldn't have found himself with a face full of open-palm pain.

But Sycorax was up to no good. And Hiro had to find out what. To save people's lives. To save the city. To save Karmi.

And salvage whatever he could between him and her.

_Should have stopped at 'the city', Genius Boy._

Hiro sighed. He really hated it when his consciousness called him that.

His phone chimed on his desk, a group text arriving into his messages. Hiro wheeled over and glanced down at the screen...

"What in the world...?"

* * *

_**But it's not a race. You have to take the hectic and rapid thing that we call life, and sometimes just-** _

"I can't believe we're actually doing this."

… _ **I was SO close, Go Go.**_

"It helps to take a deep breath and relax, Go Go. You agreed on that."

"I did. I didn't agree to _this_."

The entire group was now back at the lab, but they weren't working on projects or building things. They were in the middle of a "relaxation session", as dubbed by Honey Lemon. The five of them were sitting in a small circle, yoga mats underneath each person. Honey Lemon and Wasabi has changed into their workout clothes; Go Go and Hiro had removed their jackets, leaving them in their tank top and t-shirt respectively. Beyond that, Hiro was not experienced in this sort of thing, so he settled in and just followed the Latina's lead.

So far, they had done a few simple stretches and sensory exercises (whatever that meant, but his ears were now twitching because of it). Fred had already fallen over twice, and Go Go was itching to punch something.

In other words...it was going swimmingly.

"OK, guys. We're now going to meditate." Honey Lemon said, sitting down and crossing her legs. "Everyone, take your place."

Hiro mimicked her position, as did the others. She nodded to Baymax, who hit Play on his media program. The soft sounds of nature started to reverberate throughout the lab.

"Oh good. Are we going to sing 'Kumbaya' too?"

Honey Lemon ignored her as she looked around the circle. "Since so much has happened to us over the past few weeks, I thought that it would be a great idea for us to take some time to relax and regain our energy. And since everyone made their way here, it seems we all came to that conclusion."

"I'm for it!" Fred yelled.

"Thank you, Freddie."

"Yeah, I'm totally for it, too," Wasabi added. "You...did disable the excess-stress alarm from Baymax, right?"

"Yup. The music actually disables all of that, thankfully."

Everyone else turned to Go Go. She noticed the sudden audience and sighed loudly. "Fine. I'm willing to try it."

"Good." Honey Lemon shifted her legs slightly. "Now, everyone close their eyes and find your center. We'll start when everyone's ready."

Fred's eyes were already shut as he started teetering back and forth. Wasabi leaned away from him, probably a little worried about becoming collateral damage to him "finding his center". Hiro shut his, hands on both of his knees. Hey, it's not like this wouldn't hurt, right?

The far door creaked open, and Hiro heard footsteps make their way over to the group, stopping right between him and Honey Lemon. He still had his eyes closed, so he didn't know who it was until they opened their mouth.

"Is...there room for one more?" the person whispered.

Hiro didn't dare open his eyes as he felt Honey Lemon's body turn to the newcomer. "Of course. You can grab the extra mat and set your stuff over there."

The steps walked off, and for a moment, he wished that they would go back out the door. But no, their backpack was set down next to the chair, and they came back, uncurling the mat between him and Honey Lemon.

Hiro scooted over a little bit to give some room to the new arrival. Carefully, he opened his left eye.

The rest of the group all had their eyes shut. Going around the circle, Fred was to his immediate right, holding his fists together in some sort of Buddhist pose. To his right was Wasabi, calm and collected, having done this several times before. Go Go's lips were still in a frown, her bare arms tensed up, but at least it looked like she was trying. Honey Lemon looked almost serene in her posture, the whites and greens of her outfit glowing brightly from the lights above.

And then there was Karmi.

She had taken her sweater off, and for the second time ever, he saw the orange dress in full, her bare shoulders now exposed to the air. Her chest was slowly rising up and down, the air going in and out of her nostrils.

And her right eye was staring right at him.

In a panic, he shut his eye, not wanting to get into an argument. But the finger poking him in the knee apparently had other ideas.

 _Great_ , he thought. _You asked for it, Karmi._

Hiro looked at her now, and noticed for the first time the small, partially-healed cut on her cheek. Before she could do anything, he made his move.

"You OK?" he mouthed.

"What?" she noiselessly retorted.

Hiro tilted his head down, and she instantly knew what he was talking about. "I'm..fine."

"Baymax, does everyone have their eyes closed?"

The two teen geniuses quickly ended their quiet conversation, resuming their meditating positions.

" _Currently, everyone has their optic sensors closed."  
_

"Thank you, Baymax." Honey Lemon took a deep breath in. "Now, everyone put your hands out to the side. Left hand palm up, right hand palm down."

OK, this wasn't too bad. He could deal with this.

"Now, everyone join your hands together."

...OK, _this_ was bad.

He could hear everyone's arms shuffling around, including Fred's hand coming up to meet his. It was only a question as to what the person on his left was going to do.

But to his surprise, her fingers came to rest in his open palm, the tips lightly grazing his hand.

"Now, as we sit here together, we combine our energy and distribute it anew." Honey Lemon's voice was soft and comforting. "Everyone get a good breathing pattern, and we'll stay with this for a few minutes."

Hiro's breaths became even and focused, the music soft in the background.

"Now, how does everyone feel?"

"...I feel like Fred had a Yaki Taco on the way over here."

"Hey, I was hungry!"

" _Boys._ "

"Sorry, Go Go," they said in unison.

"Karmi, what about you?"

She hesitated for a moment, her mouth expelling air. "I feel...calm. Like...everything's fine."

Her fingers started to slightly shake in his hand, her nervousness betrayed by them.

"Like...everything's going to be OK."

"That's good, Karmi. Very good," Honey Lemon said. "Now, let's continue with the breathing."

Hiro was torn. There was literally no way he could get out of this predicament. Karmi was clearly worried about something, but it wasn't like he could just ask. Therefore, he had to come up with a solution.

He started to rub her knuckles with his thumb, hoping the comfort would help her calm down. Judging from her fingers curling into his, it seems that she got the message.

Karmi's pointer finger started tapping his palm. Maybe it was a nervous tic she had. It seemed like she was doing a lot, with long presses, short taps, and pauses in between-

Wait.

No. There was no way. How on Earth would she know-

Her nail digging into his wrist brought him back to Earth. Paying closer attention, he recalled the chart in his mind, trying to pay attention to the taps and presses in his palm.

 _Sorry_.

She was saying "Sorry."

_In Morse Code._

He was still confused, though. What was she apologizing about? He quickly make his response by using his thumb on her pinkie. _For?_

_Face._

Oh yeah. That thing that happened where Honey Lemon, Wasabi, and Aunt Cass (once he had gotten home) tried to help him. But that was days ago. And he hadn't been the best person to her either.

 _Deserved it,_ he tapped back.

One press, a tap, a pause, then three long presses. _No._

_I did._

_Hiro._

Before he could respond back, Honey Lemon spoke up. "One more minute, and then we'll move on, OK?"

Oh boy, he had to get this one out quick. He tapped out her name, then rubbed some punctuation on her middle finger. _Karmi?_

 _Yes?_ She responded.

Two taps down. _I..._

Hiro paused. This was probably not the best idea, but if he didn't do it now, he would have to say it to her face, and that was never going to happen.

He rapidly fired off his conclusion, hoping that his message was clear. Once he stopped, he listened hard for any sign that she interpreted it correctly.

Karmi's deep breath and sniffle gave her away. Her finger uncurled again, tapping his wrist softly.

Two long presses. A pause.

One short tap. Another pause.

And then seven presses all together.

Yup, she definitely got the message.

"OK, let's separate."

At Honey Lemon's command, the group opened their eyes, their hands back in their own possession. Go Go took the opportunity to stretch her arms above her head. "You know, I think that actually worked. I feel really good."

"I'm glad." Honey Lemon grinned. "Now, the next thing we're going to do is called the "raisin meditation". Wasabi, can you hand me the-"

Everyone turned to Go Go, who was munching on something, a small white box in her hands. "Oh." She shrugged her shoulders as she tossed the trash over her shoulder. "What? Meditation makes me hungry."

Hiro chuckled to himself as the four older students got up from their mats, the girls arguing with each other and the boys laughing at the argument. His ringside seat to the show was interrupted when he felt a hand on his knee. He looked down to see it belonged to the girl beside him.

Karmi smiled warmly at him, and he did his best to do the same back. It appeared that their relationship (whatever it was at that point) was back to normal. Or what counted as normal these days.

Her finger tapped his knee, the message secret to everyone else very clear to Hiro.

_Thank you._

Turns out the solution to his problem...was to take things slow.

* * *

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** (...I wonder who's going to notice I switched the disclaimers.)

So...you're probably wondering what Hiro "said" to Karmi near the end there.

The answer?

...I don't know. I'll just leave that to your imagination. :)

I have no idea what the last episode of this two week stint is going to hold, so I figured I would do a little "round-up" of the events of these episodes and stories. That includes callbacks to the show (Heathcliff, Richardson Mole) and people exclusive to my stories (Robbie), and I hope that it came together good enough.

Also, Hiro and Karmi talking to each other in Morse Code is the nerdiest thing I could have thought of. And it's also strangely adorable.

Unless I come up with another fic idea, tomorrow's chapter will be the finale for this story. Essentially writing ten stories in two weeks has been tiring, but very rewarding. Here's to hoping the episode will be rewarding as well.

Read and review, if you like. Until tomorrow.


	10. To Tell The Truth

_**Disclaimer:** _ _Big Hero 6 is owned by Disney Animation. This is the truth._

_**Disclaimer #2:** Spoilers are **not** down below. That is a lie._

* * *

_**Chapter 10 – To Tell The Truth** _

"Soooo, how do you like my new _new_ hat?"

"Umm..." Wasabi recoiled from Fred, who was sporting a brand new Tyrolean hat upon his head. Just like the tam o'shanter from yesterday, it was a hideous color of green, and a white feather was hanging off the brim. "Can I plead the fifth?"

"The fifth what?"

"Never mind."

Fred moved onto the next person, dramatically waving his arms in front of him. "Miss Honey Lemon, what about you? Does my hat excite you?"

"It's...very unique, Freddie!"

"Glad to hear it!"

Before he could even reach Go Go's station, her voice rang out loud enough for him to hear. "Don't even come over here, because you don't want to hear what I have to say."

"Fair enough!" Fred came to the last member of their group. "Baymax, my man! Do you dig it?"

" _I do not see how someone can dig with a piece of clothing. It would be preferable if you used a shovel or a spade."_

Before he could retort, the side door burst open, and a teen genius stomped their way into the room, fists clenched and eyes practically white with fury.

"Oh boy." Wasabi ducked behind his toolbox. "I've seen that look before."

"Hey, _there's_ someone that will be honest with me!" Fred strode over to the newcomer, tipping his cap. "Can I get your opinion on-"

Their hand came down upon the brim, yanking it almost to the ground along with Fred.

"Aww." Go Go smirked. "I wanted to do that."

They stopped right in front of Honey Lemon's table, slapping both hands on the surface. The Latina looked up from her beaker to smile at the new arrival.

"Hi, Karmi."

"Where's Hiro!?"

"Oh, so you _are_ actually looking for him this time?"

"Go Go, let me handle this," Honey Lemon said. She turned back to Karmi, who had steam pouring out of her ears. "Karmi, we actually haven't seen him for a few hours. After class, he said he had to go do something and left. He hasn't been around since."

"Are you sure?"

"Karmi." Honey Lemon continued to grin at her. "I'm not lying to you. I really don't know where he is."

Karmi stared at her for a moment, softening her gaze. She glanced over at Go Go, who shrugged her shoulders. "Hey, don't look at me. I don't know either."

She turned her head further to the right, her eyes now resting on the robot standing next to Go Go's station.

And then she got an idea.

"Hey, Baymax."

" _Hello, Karmi."_

She walked over to him, feigning ignorance. " _You_ wouldn't happen to know where Hiro is, would you?"

" _I can scan for Hiro, if you wish._ "

"That would be great, if you could. I need to talk to him."

Baymax's eyes glowed blue as his scan worked its magic. After a few seconds, they returned to normal. _"Hiro is currently on campus, and can be found at this location."_ He brought up a map of SFIT, a large red arrow point at a very familiar spot.

"...I'm going to murder that boy."

Karmi sprinted off, throwing the doors open in the huff. Now free of her wrath, the four students looked at each other nervously.

"She's...not really going to kill him, is he?" Honey Lemon asked.

* * *

_She's definitely going to kill me._

Hiro stood in place, waiting for the inevitable storm to come into the room. It was going to be tough, for sure, but this had gone on long enough.

This had to end.

He heard footsteps approach the automatic door. Oh boy. Here it comes.

The door slid open to reveal Karmi, her face red from anger and running around campus. She walked forward as the door closed behind her, trapping the two of them together...

In her lab.

"What game are you playing at, Genius Boy!?"

Yup, already starting off splendidly.

"Do you have any idea what-"

"Karmi...stop. Please."

" _What did you just-"_

"Karmi!"

The girl's face grew even more angry, but she stopped talking, staring daggers into his brain. At least she was quiet now.

"Five minutes. That's all I'm asking for. After five minutes, you can do whatever you want to me. Slap me, hit me, anything you can think of."

"...Fine." She walked over to her counter and turned the dial on her centrifuge. "You have five minutes. Go."

Hiro took a deep breath. Good thing he worked well under pressure. Maybe not _this_ pressure, but he had to deal with it.

"I got into your lab because you didn't lock the door when you stormed out earlier. I was waiting for you to leave, and then I got in. I knew that the folder that I put underneath your door would make you go out looking for me. I didn't break into your lab...this time."

Karmi raised her eyebrow at him, but she didn't make a move to stop him.

"The folder, if you read it, contains everything that I know about Sycorax and the monster attacks that have been happening in the city. I can't tell you how I know this stuff, but it's all there."

Another deep breath, and he continued on. "There were two physical pieces of evidence that I didn't put in there. And that's these."

Karmi's eyes widened as two small discs were brought out of his pockets. Two very familiar discs...

"This one is the nanoreceptor you used on me when I overloaded the Nano-Dex in the garage," he said, holding up the one in his right hand. "This one (he shook his left hand) is a dermal patch that was found on the Hibagon that attacked the Golden Gate Bridge a couple of weeks ago. They have almost the exact same design; I checked the circuitry inside it. Someone used your tech to turn that man into a monster."

"Why-"

"I kept the disc because I implemented the tech into the Medi-Dex. It can be part of a back-up distribution center."

"How-"

"I can't tell you how I found the disc that was on the Hibagon. I have...sources."

Hiro stepped forward, putting the disc from the bridge into her hand. "Karmi, I'm not going to try to convince you that Liv Amara is evil. You won't listen to me. But _someone_ there is up to no good. And I'm not going to sit here and keep you in the dark any longer. You don't deserve that."

He shuffled back, maintaining his distance from her rigid body. "And now...for everything that's not in that folder."

"Wait, what are you-"

"Karmi, I still have two minutes left. I will shut up immediately after that. I promise."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine."

A shaky sigh escaped his mouth. It would be easier if Karmi wasn't still glaring at him, but it would have to do.

"Karmi, I want you to know that throughout all of the stuff that's happened between us, I haven't thought any less of you. Every time we fight, every time we apologize, every time we argue again...I try to make myself understand that this is what happens when two people who are different come together."

"Hiro..."

"You're annoying, but you're persistent. You're loud, but you're powerful. You're a know-it-all, but you're one of the smartest people I know."

"Hiro, you don't have to say-"

"Yes."

Karmi stopped, seeing his face grow even more concentrated.

"I do."

Hiro straightened up, shoving his hands in his pockets to hide the shaking. "Karmi...you are one of the most frustrating people I have ever met in my life. But you're also one of the most amazing ones. And I'm going to tell you to your face...what I told you the other day in your hand. Because you deserve that much."

He looked at her straight in the eye.

"Karmi, no matter what happens between us...just know that you are still my friend. And I care about you too much to think otherwise."

The two teen geniuses stared at each other for a long time, not moving an inch. It wasn't until the centrifuge timer dinged that one of them made the first move.

"There. I said everything I needed to." Hiro closed his eyes. "Your turn. Do what you want."

The vibrations in the floor got more pronounced as Karmi walked up to him. She stopped right in front, and he could feel her breath come down on his forehead. He could only imagine what she was going to do. Maybe this time she would punch him in the face.

Yup, he felt the breeze of her arm go up his sleeve. Time to embrace the inevitable. He braced himself for the impact…

Karmi's hand came down lightly on his right cheek. She patted it once…

"That was for making me run around campus."

Twice…

"That was for being an annoying braggart."

Three times.

"That was for being a general pain in my side."

Then she slowly put her arms around his neck, pulling him into her body.

"This is for believing in me, and for being my friend."

Pleasantly surprised, Hiro's hands made their way to her waist, completing the hug.

"And this?" Her head came parallel to his, the whisper rolling over his ear.

"This is for everything else."

Her lips came in contact for the briefest of moments with his left cheek, her hand on the other one to keep his head steady. You know, the head that was becoming increasing warm and flushed from what was happening.

"Karmi..." he muttered.

She brought her head back in front of him and returned her arms to her side. Her cheeks were still burning as she bent down to eye-level. "Now, can you do something for me?"

Hiro smiled. "Anything."

Her hand went up to his forehead, the middle finger and thumb together in her palm.

"Get out of my lab."

THWACK!

The sheer force of Karmi flicking her finger into his head caused Hiro to stumble back toward the entrance, the door automatically opening and shutting him out.

He found himself leaning against the far wall, staring at the closed door. He straightened himself back up as he rubbed his forehead, his neck still hot from what happened before that.

"Well...I guess I deserved that."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** And you guys thought this whole idea of mine was unplanned. Phase 2 of "Get Hiro and Karmi together"...done.

This final chapter, surprisingly, was the most difficult to write. Normally, the ideas for the chapters came to my head naturally when watching the episodes. Some came pretty quickly (Fair Play, They Hate…?), some took a little time (The Sass & The Curious, Not Out Of The Woods), and one took a _very_ long time.

This one. Because I didn't really know what to do. Which is why I went to the old reliable Hiro/Karmi standby.

I feel like I did do a good variety of pairings, characters, and situations in these chapters. Yes, a lot of them are either entirely Hiro/Karmi or partially so, but again, that's what I like to think I do best.

I want to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited, and read this story, especially everyone who stuck in there through all ten chapters. As always, your support and excitement are the reasons why I continue writing.

So, you're probably wondering...what's next?

First of all, I have to catch up on sleep. It turns out if you want a consistent sleep schedule, don't make ten chapters in two weeks.

Two, I will be revisiting and finishing the final two chapters of **Part-Time _._** It's only fair that Wasabi, Honey Lemon, & Fred get their stories done.

After that, I will be revealing my new story. It will be a slight change of pace from normal. It will have some romance in it. It will not be a Hiro/Karmi one (although I'll probably sneak _something_ in there), and it will not be Go Go/Robbie.

Nah, I think it's about time I showed you a little more action, a little more adventure, and what I have in store for Wasabi and who I have as his potential romantic interest. And I highly doubt anyone will be able to **Fathom** at the start why I picked her.

Hmm. If only there was some sort of hint that I left in the last sentence. A title or something.

Read and review, if you like. Until next time, everyone.


End file.
